Engineering firm Doncasters sells Shrewsbury site

The group has sold its UK based fabrications and Blaenavon forgings businesses to private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners in a bid to simplify and streamline its activities.

It has also announced a new leadership structure to support both the ongoing business transformation plan and the progression of its financial restructuring negotiations, which are at an advanced stage.

The group's fabrications business comprises the Sentinel Works site in Shrewsbury and its Bramah site in Sheffield.

It is not yet known what the move will mean for the Shrewsbury site, which employs about 200 people.

These transactions follow on from the disposal of Doncasters’ Settas facility in Belgium, on September 30, with several smaller disposals also planned later this year.

Alongside these completed and proposed transactions, Doncasters has also launched a new operating model.

Milestone

This new operating model will see Doncasters’ core precision castings and superalloys facilities organised into two geographic divisions under the leadership of two managing directors, Jason Mays and Simon Ward in USA and Europe, respectively.

Doncasters’ Trucast business will remain a separate division, given the integration of its USA and UK operations and will remain under the leadership of managing director, Chris Pritchard.

In order to allow the senior management team to focus on this operational transformation, Doncasters has made two interim appointments to its board.

Neil Robson has joined as chief performance officer and Michael Thomas will join as chief restructuring officer. On a day-to-day basis they will work with Jas Sahota, chief executive officer of Doncasters, until the completion of the financial restructuring.

Mr Sahota said: "This is a major milestone towards our goal of creating a simpler group, with an unrelenting focus on the delivery of its core precision castings and superalloys expertise under the leadership of Simon Ward, Jason Mays and Chris Pritchard.

"We are pleased to have found a buyer who has a deep understanding and potential of our forgings and fabrications businesses. Finally, the board looks forward to working with Neil and Michael, as their experience will prove invaluable as we move closer to finalising and implementing our balance sheet restructuring in a structured manner.”