InfraStrata has signed heads of terms to purchase the assets of Northern Ireland shipyard Harland and Wolff.
The energy infrastructure investor will purchase the assets of Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries Limited and Harland and Wolff Group from administrator BDO Northern Ireland for £6m (€6.7m).
The assets comprise a multi-purpose fabrication facility, quaysides and docking facilities in the port of Belfast.
Harland and Wolff, which is involved in offshore wind fabrication, entered administration on 6 August after an original search for a new owner proved unsuccessful.
The acquisition will enable InfraStrata to bring in-house a large part of the fabrication requirements for its Islandmagee gas storage project and future projects.
According to InfraStrata 100% of the 79 employees who did not opt for voluntary redundancy earlier in the year will be retained immediately following completion of the acquisition.
The board of InfraStrata said it plans to “significantly increase the size of the workforce by several hundred over the next five years” as it progresses the development of its infrastructure projects.
A new management team for the facility will be employed by the end of 2019, in addition to bringing onboard the experience of those employees who were previously employed by Harland and Wolff, and the assets will be run independently to InfraStrata’s other projects, the company stated.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Julian Smith said: “I am delighted by the news that InfraStrata have purchased the Harland and Wolff shipyard and retained the skills and experience of the existing workforce.
“I firmly believe that the shipyard has a promising future and that InfraStrata’s plans present an exciting opportunity for both Belfast and Northern Ireland’s manufacturing and energy sectors.”
According to InfraStrata, “the highly skilled workforce presents the company with an opportunity to create secondary revenue streams through the provision of services to the energy, maritime and defence sectors should such opportunities arise in future.”
The acquisition is subject to final contract and funding by 31 October 2019, or 31 December 2019 if the backstop date comes into force.
InfraStrata chief executive John Wood said: “Harland and Wolff is a landmark asset and its reputation as one of the finest multi-purpose fabrication facilities in Europe is testament to its highly skilled team in Belfast.
This acquisition is a function of deep operational synergies between the various business segments “of the Company with Harland and Wolff underpinning the construction economics of the Islandmagee Gas Storage Project and other future projects.
“We are delighted to be able to retain 100% of personnel who did not opt to take voluntary redundancy earlier this year.
“While our core priority will be to deliver our flagship project in Islandmagee, we believe there are opportunities to welcome potential new clients due to the diverse skill set at the facility. This acquisition will clearly provide substantial advantages through vertical integration in addition to demonstrating our commitment to the Northern Irish economy, particularly in the post-Brexit era.”
Welcoming this morning’s announcement that the shipyard has been bought with jobs and full terms and conditions secured, Unite regional secretary Jackie Pollock said that the “dramatic turnaround” in the iconic shipyard’s fortunes was due “solely to the determination of the workforce who refused to accept the loss of their jobs and skills”.
Pollock said: “On 29 July, following a week of speculation and the threat of imminent closure, workers at Harland and Wolff took matters into their own hands and occupied the site.
“Few commentators believed they would be win, but as trade unionists they had belief in the power of collective action.
“Now, the administrator is preparing letters requesting our members return to work this week following the acceptance of bid from Infrastrata which will not only save jobs but lay the foundations for the yard’s expansion.”