Harland and Wolff, the Belfast shipyard famous for being the birthplace of the Titanic, is set to be bought by Spain’s state-owned shipbuilder, Navantia. Exclusive negotiations have been ongoing since October 2021 after Harland and Wolff’s parent company went into administration. The deal is expected to be announced on Thursday and will safeguard all jobs at the company. The acquisition is also likely to include Harland and Wolff’s facilities in Scotland and England.
Navantia is 100% owned by Spain’s government and has been a beneficiary of funding from the European Commission as part of the European Defence Fund. It employs over 4,000 people and has an annual turnover of approximately €1.3bn (£835m). The main shipyard is located in Cadiz, southern Spain.
The UK government may also announce that it is improving the terms of the deal to reflect increased costs. The agreement is set to be presented as an early win for the government’s post-Brexit “reset”. Joining the European Defence Fund is a potential objective for the UK-EU security reset. The objectives are set to be debated at a summit early next year.
Navantia is already a key contractor on the project to build three Royal Navy support ships, with Harland and Wolff working as a UK subcontractor. Harland and Wolff, founded in 1861 by Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff, dominated global shipbuilding in the early 20th Century. After World War Two, the company fell into a series of financial crises and was under UK state control from 1977 to 1989.
In 2019, Harland and Wolff went into insolvency after its Norwegian owners withdrew financial support. It was then purchased by Infrastrata, a London-based energy company. In 2022, Harland and Wolff, under the Infrastrata name, won the Royal Navy contract alongside Navantia. However, losses mounted as it expanded operations, and the company’s finances became increasingly reliant on specialist US lender Riverstone. The firm sought a £200m government loan guarantee, which was rejected, leading to its holding company’s administration in September. Russell Downs was appointed to find a new owner for the business
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