Spanish shipbuilding firm Navantia has completed its rescue of Harland & Wolff, the owner of the historic Belfast shipyard, in a deal securing 1,000 jobs.
The UK government confirmed on Thursday that the Spanish state-owned firm has bought all four Harland & Wolff shipyards, including its Belfast facility.
The company’s last two owners have gone bust twice in the past five years, leading to concerns about the yard’s future.
Navantia had been in exclusive talks since October to take over the business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the price is reported to be in the region of £70 million (€84 million).
The deal “will secure the future of Harland & Wolff’s shipyards in Northern Ireland (Belfast), Scotland (Arnish and Methil) and Devon (Appledore), and protect workers’ existing terms and conditions,” the UK department for business and trade said in a statement.
At its peak, “the shipyard” – as it is still referred to in Belfast – had been a global giant in the sector employing 35,000 people. It held the record for ship production in the second World War.
Plagued by financial difficulties and increasing international competition in more recent years, the company’s decline mirrors the North’s overall industrial slide from its golden age in producing linen and shipbuilding.
Northern Secretary Hilary Benn said on Thursday that Navantia’s investment was “great news” for Belfast, the Northern Ireland economy and, “above all, for Harland & Wolff’s hugely skilled shipbuilding workforce”.
“Harland & Wolff is an iconic, internationally-renowned company with a long and proud history,” he added.
Navantia already has a business relationship with Harland & Wolff as it is the main contractor to build three support ships for the Royal Navy. Harland & Wolff acts as the UK subcontractor.
Spain’s national shipbuilder employs more than 4,000 people and has an annual turnover of about €1.3 billion. Unaudited results for Harland & Wolff, published in July, reported an operating loss of £24.7 million (€29.9 million) 2023 down from a £58.5 million loss in 2022.
Navantia said the deal would “enhance UK shipbuilding, defence and offshore wind industry capabilities”.
UK business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the move as is a “major vote of confidence in the UK from Navantia”.
“It will not only secure the future of UK shipbuilding but protect 1,000 jobs across the country and bring future investment into shipbuilding right across the UK.”
Founded in 1861 by Yorkshireman Edward Harland and his German business partner, Gustav Wolff, the firm’s iconic yellow cranes named after the Biblical figures, Samson and Goliath, continue to dominate the skyline in east Belfast. Internationally, it is perhaps best known for building the Titanic.
But Harland & Wolff also became a symbol of sectarianism, employing an almost exclusively Protestant workforce post-partition. Violence followed the expulsion of Catholic shipyard workers in the 1920s: more than 50 years later, further intimidation was meted out to nationalist employees during the Troubles.
Once a unionist stronghold, the political landscape and east Belfast’s demography have altered dramatically over the past 20 years. The former home of shipbuilding has been transformed into the booming Titanic Quarter, attracting millions of visitors and creating thousands of jobs.
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