The British Steel brand has been revived following the completion of a deal in which Tata Steel sold its long products business to Greybull Capital.
Greybull, an investment firm, paid a nominal £1 for the business, which makes products such as railway tracks and steel used in construction.
The deal will safeguard more than 4,000 jobs as well as restore the British Steel name. The sale includes the steelworks in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and sites in Teesside, Workington and York. The brand of the former state-owned industry disappeared in 1999 with the creation of Corus, which Tata bought in 2007.
The new logo (pictured) was unveiled at the Scunthorpe plant on Wednesday. As part of the new deal workers agreed to take pay cuts as well as a reduction in their pensions.
Speaking about the restoration of the iconic brand, unions in the area said it was the beginning of a “new chapter”.
Unite convenor for British Steel in Scunthorpe, Martin Foster, said: “British Steel’s first day of trading marks the beginning of a new chapter not only for Scunthorpe, but UK steelmaking. It is a massive vote of confidence in a world-class workforce and the town of Scunthorpe with its proud history of steelmaking.
“Bringing months of uncertainty to an end, it shows that steelmaking in the UK can have a future. Over the coming months we will be working with the new owners to make the new British Steel a success and ensure it goes from strength to strength.”
