Tata Steel sells UK's largest Scunthorpe plant

Indian steel company Tata Steel sold some of its production assets to UK investment fund Greybull Capital on Monday, saving thousands of jobs, but not deciding the fate of the UK's largest steel mills.

At the end of March, struggling with the effects of declining global demand for steel, Tata Steel put up all of its controlled plants in the UK for sale, threatening the complete destruction of the British steel industry, which employs 15,000 people.

David Cameron ruled out the possibility of saving from the crisis through nationalization. Greybull announced that it has acquired Tata's European structural steel division. The sale and purchase agreement calls for a £ 400 million investment in Scunthorpe by the new owner, while consultations with unions and suppliers are planned to restructure the core operating costs of the facility.

In accordance with the agreement, the property was returned to its traditional company name, British Steel. The sale is expected to take effect within eight weeks after the completion of the necessary procedures, including approval by a vote of the union. Greybull Tata will pay only a token price of one pound to find a buyer to attract 4,000 people in Port Talbot, South Wales, which may take some time given that negotiations with Tata will be much broader than Scunthorpe's range of issues, starting with retirement provision of pre-energy subsidies.