Hundreds more jobs saved at Caparo

A total of 76 jobs had already been saved at Caparo Testing in Oldbury in the West Midlands, Reigate in Surrey, Luton and Poole

A further 333 jobs have been saved at steel firm Caparo, administrators say.

Caparo Tubular Solutions has been sold to the Gupta family, which manages metals group Liberty House, PwC said.

The sale, described as a "sliver of good news" by a union boss, secures hundreds of jobs in the West Midlands and Blaenau Gwent.

In October, Caparo announced 452 jobs were to go across the country, including 300 in the West Midlands, after it entered administration.

A total of 76 jobs in the West Midlands and south of England were saved last week when PwC confirmed Caparo Testing Technologies had been sold.

It brings the total number of jobs saved at the company to 409.

Steel 'has future'

PwC said clarifying the number of posts secured in each location was difficult because some staff work across more than one site.

The latest sale includes the businesses of Caparo Precision Tubes, Caparo Tube Components and Caparo Accles and Pollock, all based in Oldbury, West Midlands.

Also saved are steel distributor Hub Le Bas in Bilston, West Midlands and the Caparo Tubes Tredegar Asset in Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent.

Sanjeev Gupta, chief executive of Liberty House, described the Caparo tube businesses as "a major complement" to the company's own hot rolled coil production, based in Newport, south-east Wales.

He said: "I believe that, despite the current difficulties being encountered by the UK steel industry there is a future for the sector in Britain.

"Caparo Tubular Solutions was a fundamentally profitable business with substantial, sustainable value, and we were very attracted to its highly-skilled management and workforce, extensive distribution network and top-quality customer base."

'Progress on prices'

Robert Moran, partner at PwC, said: "The sale of Caparo Tubular Solutions is a major boost for the midlands economy, the employees of Caparo and more widely for the UK steel industry.

"This deal preserves all 333 jobs at Caparo Tubular Solutions, which manufactures, distributes and supplies advanced tube components and parts for the automotive and aerospace industries in the West Midlands and south Wales."

Unions have blamed cheap imports from China for the UK steel industry's problems.

Russell Farrington, GMB regional organiser, said: "This is a sliver of good news for workers in the steel industry.

"GMB warmly welcome this for the Caparo workers we represent in the West Midlands. We have made progress on the energy prices front for the UK steel industry.

"We now need action on dumping."