Liberty Steel Group

Last updated

Liberty Steel Group Holdings UK Ltd
Founded1992;32 years ago (1992)
Founder Sanjeev Gupta
Headquarters
London
,
England
Key people
Jon Bolton (Chief Executive)
ProductsSteel
Aluminium
Scrap metal
Engineering
Number of employees
4,500 (2017) [1]
Website www.libertysteelgroup.com

Liberty Steel Group Holdings UK Ltd (LSG), which is also referred to as Liberty House or Liberty House UK, is a British industrial and metals company founded in the United Kingdom in 1992 by industrialist Sanjeev Gupta. It is headquartered in London, England, [2] and has offices in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Contents

The holding company of Liberty Steel, Liberty House Group PTE Ltd is based in Singapore. [3] [4] The company focuses on ferrous and non-ferrous metal trading, metals recycling, steel and aluminium production, and engineering products and services. [5] [6] Gupta controls it through his vehicle GFG Alliance.

History

LHG was founded by Sanjeev Gupta in 1992.[ citation needed ]

LHG, together with the SIMEC Group, part of the GFG Alliance, purchased the Lochaber aluminium smelter plant as well as the Laggan Dam from Rio Tinto in November 2016. [7]

In February 2017, LHG agreed to purchase the specialty steel division of Tata Steel Europe for £100 million. The purchase included the division's facilities in Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Brinsworth in South Yorkshire and Wednesbury in the West Midlands. [8]

In July 2017, LHG purchased South Australian steelmaker Arrium [9] which was rebadged LibertyOneSteel for the first year of ownership and is now Liberty Steel. [10]

In October 2019, GFG Alliance promised to merge its steel assets into Liberty Steel Group by year end. [11] [ needs update ]

In 2020, LHG received European Union approval to purchase the Duffel, Belgium plant of aluminium smelter operator Aleris which cleared the way for the purchase of Aleris by Novelis. [12]

On 19 February 2021 ThyssenKrupp ended discussions with Liberty Steel, which had proposed to take over the former's steel unit. [13] ThyssenKrupp has sought €1.5 billion for its steel assets but, given ThyssenKrupp €960 million EBIT loss in 2020, Liberty had sought to acquire the unit for a reverse payment. [13]

On 31 March 2021 Credit Suisse filed insolvency proceedings against Liberty Commodities (a LHG subsidiary) in a London court. The action was brought by a unit of another bank, Citigroup, which was acting under instruction from Credit Suisse. The Swiss bankers are on the hook for a $10 billion fund part of which was invested in Greensill Capital which had placed $3.6 billion in LHG parent company GFG, part of which had funnelled down to LCL. The balance sheet of Credit Suisse would absorb significant damage as a result. [14]

On 2 April 2021, Gupta claimed that none of its plants would close under his watch as he raced to refinance his business after the collapse of financial backer Greensill. Liberty Steel had 3,000 employees, while GFG Alliance had another 2,000 in other UK metals and engineering businesses. [15] In April 2021, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng rejected a request to bail LSG out. [16] In February 2022, HM Revenue & Customs sought winding up petitions against four LSG subsidiaries. [17]

In November 2024, Liberty Steel initiated a restructuring plan for its UK-based Speciality Steel division (SSUK) in a bid to reduce its significant debt load. Despite potential impacts on creditors, it has been reported that the plan will not affect the 1,500 employees of SSUK. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krupp</span> German steel and weapons production company

Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer during both world wars. It produced battleships, U-boats, tanks, howitzers, guns, utilities, and hundreds of other commodities. The company also produced steel used to build railroads in the United States and to cap the Chrysler Building.

Outokumpu Oyj is a group of international companies headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employing 10,600 employees in more than 30 countries. Outokumpu is the largest producer of stainless steel in Europe and the second largest producer in the Americas. Outokumpu also has a long history as a mining company, and still mines chromium ore in Keminmaa for use as ferrochrome in stainless steel. The largest shareholder of Outokumpu is the Government of Finland, with 26.6% ownership, including the shares controlled by Solidium, The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Finnish State Pension Fund and Municipality Pension Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ThyssenKrupp</span> German multinational conglomerate steel corporation

ThyssenKrupp AG is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It resulted from the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and Essen. The company says that it is one of the largest steel producers in the world, and it was ranked tenth-largest worldwide by revenue in 2015. It is divided into 670 subsidiaries worldwide. The largest shareholders are the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation and Cevian Capital. ThyssenKrupp's products range from machines and industrial services to high-speed trains, elevators, and shipbuilding. The subsidiary ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems also manufactures frigates, corvettes, and submarines for the German and foreign navies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aditya Birla Group</span> Indian multinational conglomerate

Aditya Birla Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The group's business interests include metals, cement, fashion and retail, financial services, renewables, fibre, textiles, chemicals, real estate, trading, mining, and entertainment. The group has a presence in 36 nations and a combined annual revenue of US$62 billion, over 50% of which is derived from its overseas operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindalco Industries</span> Indian multinational aluminium manufacturing company

Hindalco Industries Limited an Indian aluminium and copper manufacturing company, is a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group. Its headquarters are at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tata Steel Europe</span> Multinational steelmaking company

Tata Steel Europe Ltd. was a steelmaking company headquartered in London, England, with its main operations in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company was created in 2007, when Tata Group took over the British-Dutch Corus Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tata Steel Netherlands</span> Former Dutch steel company

Koninklijke Hoogovens known as Koninklijke Nederlandse Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken (KNHS) until 1996 or informally Hoogovens. is a Dutch steel producer founded in 1918. Since 2010, the plant is named Tata Steel IJmuiden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArcelorMittal</span> Luxembourgish steel manufacturing corporation

ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second largest steel producer in the world, with an annual crude steel production of 78 million metric tonnes as of 2022. It is ranked 197th in the 2022 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world's largest corporations. It employs around 154,000 people and its market capital is $20 billion. The total value of company assets is estimated to be around $94 billion.

Arrium was an Australian mining and materials company, employing nearly 10,000 workers, that went into voluntary administration in 2016 with debts of more than $2 billion. In 2017 it was acquired by British-owned Liberty House Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thyssen AG</span> German steel producer

Thyssen was a major German steel producer founded by August Thyssen. The company merged with Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp to form ThyssenKrupp in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleris</span> American companies

Aleris Corporation was an American aluminum rolled products producer, based in Beachwood, Ohio. The company had approximately 5,000 employees globally as of mid 2015.

Jay Hambro is a British businessman in the mining, energy, steel and commodity sectors. He is the founder of Verdigris Strategic, a long-term investor and business transformation specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Materials Processing Institute</span> Research centre in the Tees Valley, England

The Materials Processing Institute is a research centre serving organisations that work in advanced materials, low-carbon energy and the circular economy. The Institute is based in Tees Valley in the northeast of England.

Sanjeev Gupta is an Indian-born British businessman, and the founder of Liberty House Group. He is the CEO and chairman of GFG Alliance, an international conglomerate that operates primarily in the steel and mining industries. Following the collapse of Greensill Capital in 2021, Sanjeev Gupta has been under scrutiny for his ties to the failed company, which involved opaque financing and sales invoices that Greensill's administrator has been unable to verify.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clydebridge Steelworks</span>

The Clydebridge Steelworks, also known as Clydebridge Works, is a steel works in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

SIMEC Group Ltd is a British international energy and natural resources business focused on resources, sustainable power, infrastructure, and commodities trading. In 2016 it had an annual turnover of almost USD2.5 billion and net assets of USD350 million. It is part of the Gupta Family Group ("GFG") Alliance, owned by members of the Gupta family, which had a combined turnover of more than USD13 billion and combined net assets of more than USD2.3 billion. Its activities span renewable energy generation, mining, shipping, and commodities trading.

Gupta Family Group Alliance is an international group of businesses associated with businessman Sanjeev Gupta and the British Gupta family. Collectively, companies in the alliance are involved in mining, industry and trading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VDM Metals</span> German manufacturer of corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant nickel and cobalt alloys

VDM Metals Group based in Werdohl, Germany, is a manufacturer of corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant and high-temperature nickel alloys, cobalt and zirconium alloys as well as high-alloyed special stainless steels. These materials are used in the chemical process industry, the oil and gas industry, aerospace, automotive and electronics / electrical engineering. VDM Metals operates production sites in Germany and the United States. The company employs about 2,000 people worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greensill Capital</span> Financial services company

Greensill Capital was a financial services company based in the United Kingdom and Australia. Its main business was the provision of supply chain financing and related services. The company was founded in 2011 by Lex Greensill. It filed for insolvency protection on 8 March 2021.

References

  1. ↑ Monaghan, Angela (2 May 2017). "Tata deal with Liberty House saves 1,700 UK steel jobs". The Guardian . Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "Company Overview of Liberty House Ltd". Bloomberg News . Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Privacy Policy".
  4. ↑ "LIBERTY Steel Group appoints global leadership team and independent board members" (PDF) (Press release). Liberty House Group. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Liberty House - A global industrial and metals group". www.libertyhousegroup.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Our Locations". Liberty Steel Group. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Tovey, Alan (23 November 2016). "Rio Tinto to sell Scottish aluminium smelter to Liberty for £330m". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Tata sells speciality steel to Liberty House for £100m". Financial Times . 9 February 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  9. ↑ Whyalla steelmaker Arrium to be sold to British company Liberty House ABC News 5 July 2017
  10. ↑ Paul, Chrystan (21 March 2018). "Why Sanjeev Gupta May Just Be The World's Most Ambitious Industrialist". Forbes .
  11. ↑ Bone, Carrie (30 October 2019). "Liberty Steel assets to merge into single global group, to adopt neutral carbon business strategy". Euromoney Global Limited. Fastmarkets.
  12. ↑ "Novelis closes on Aleris purchase". Argus Media . 14 April 2020.
  13. 1 2 Rivituso, Christopher (19 February 2021). "ThyssenKrupp ends talks with Liberty Steel over potential steel unit takeover". MetalMiner.
  14. ↑ Makortoff, Kalyeena (31 March 2021). "Credit Suisse aims at wind-up orders for Gupta's Liberty arm". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ "Liberty Steel boss: Plants won't shut on my watch". BBC News . 2 April 2021.
  16. ↑ Liberty Steel: Kwarteng defends rejecting request for £170m bailout BBC News 13 April 2021
  17. ↑ Four Gupta steel firms face winding up orders BBC News 10 February 2022
  18. ↑ "Steel tycoon Gupta heads for court to restructure UK arm". Sky News. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.