Tata’s speciality steels business to sell for £100m

The agreement, which is subject to due diligence and corporate approvals, includes the Rotherham electric arc steelworks, the steel purifying facility in Stocksbridge and a mill in Brinsworth, as well as service centres in Bolton and Wednesbury, and in Suzhou and Xi'an in China.

Commenting on the sale, Tata Steel UK chief executive officer Bimlendra Jha said: “The Speciality Steels business is independent of the pan-European strip products supply chain and today’s announcement is in line with the overall restructuring strategy of the UK portfolio.”

During March Tata Steel announced it would "explore all options” for its loss-making UK business, which raised concerns over thousands of jobs.

Speciality Steels employs about 1,700 people, making steels for the aerospace, automotive and oil & gas industries.

Workers’ union Unite welcomed the sale, but called for an independent audit of the Tata sell-off, citing jobs security and the future of the pension scheme as key priorities during the negotiation process.

“Of course, the devil is very much in the detail which is why we will be asking Tata Steel to ensure that we can conduct independent due diligence on its proposals,” said Harish Patel, Unite national officer for metals.