News: Pre-pack deal for specialist Rotherham recruitment firm

A pre-pack deal has been secured for Rotherham-based specialist engineering and manufacturing recruitment business after it entered administration.

Metalis Engineering Recruitment Limited was established in 2019 and provided specialist recruitment services to the engineering and manufacturing sectors, supporting businesses across Yorkshire, the North of England and the Midlands with permanent and temporary recruitment solutions.

The Templeborough company faced increasingly challenging trading conditions, with a slowdown in recruitment activity and continued pressure on margins contributing to significant cash-flow difficulties. Despite steps taken by management to reduce costs and restructure the business, its financial position ultimately became unsustainable, and advice was sought from CY Group.

Steve Currie and Sophie Murcott of business advisory firm CY Group were appointed Joint Administrators of the Rotherham-based company on August 3 2026.

A report from the administrators states that the company's difficulties began in late 2024 with the deterioration in market conditions. It pointed to wider economic pressure, the adoption of inhouse hiring tools by clients and increased competition from smaller agencies and independent recruiters. Late payments from a key client and a dispute with software providers were also cited.

Following COVID, demand recovered strongly and the business grew steadily for around four years. At its peak the Company employed 28 staff across two offices.

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The Joint Administrators completed a pre-packaged sale of the business and certain assets to Metalis Recruitment Group Limited, a connected company, for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction secures the future of the business and safeguards all six jobs, enabling Metalis to continue trading and supporting its customers. The sale also represents a positive outcome for creditors, with the secured creditor currently expected to be repaid in full.

Steven Currie, Joint Administrator and Managing Director of CY Group, said: “Metalis had established a strong position within a specialist recruitment market, but challenging trading conditions and increasing pressure on cash flow had created significant difficulties for the business.

“Our priority was to preserve the underlying business, protect employment and achieve the best possible outcome for creditors.

“We are pleased to have completed a sale that safeguards all six jobs, enables the business to continue supporting its customers and is expected to result in the secured creditor being repaid in full.

“This is a positive outcome in what had become a very challenging set of circumstances and demonstrates the importance of seeking professional advice at an early stage, when there may still be options available to preserve value and protect jobs.”

The business will continue to trade under Metalis Recruitment Group Limited following completion of the sale.

Metalis website

Images: Metalis

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News: Changes at The Garrison as Rotherham restaurant announces closure

An independent restaurant in Rotherham has announced its closure with a "small transformation" planned for later this year.

Elliott Vaughan opened his 1920s themed restaurant, The Garrison at Wickersley, in 2020 after securing financial help from alternative lending provider Finance For Enterprise. However, within less than seven days, his plans were thrown into jeopardy when, along with the whole of South Yorkshire’s hospitality sector, the restaurant was ordered to close as South Yorkshire entered into Tier 3 lockdown.

The focus is on British inspired local produce plus unique cocktails and proper beers. Drawing on inspiration from the hit TV show Peaky Blinders, whilst giving a nod to the golden age of jazz and the roaring Twenties, Elliott re-imagined the former tearoom, transforming it into a cosy, atmospheric dining experience.

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An update on social media explained that: "The Garrison as you know it will be closing. We will be undergoing a small transformation, and our restaurant will be changing its identity. More details of what will be following will be announced in the next few months."

The premises benefits from planning permission for a change of use from restaurant into a micropub and a decking area to front of the property.

In his post, Vaughan said that the changes are "as exciting as it is upsetting" but added that "this is not a goodbye, but a see you later."

On the state of the restaurant sector, the founder said: "Please keep supporting your local independent businesses. We know it’s tough out there for everyone, and for the hospitality guys, we are all feeling your pain.

"First the Conservatives and then Starmer’s useless government sapped the living s*** out of our beautiful industry and economy on a whole (in my opinion) and I don’t have much hope that Burnham will save it."

The Garrison facebook page

Images: The Garrison / facebook

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News: Peel Group makes £583m offer for Harworth Group

One of the leading infrastructure, transport and real estate investors in the UK, The Peel Group, has made a cash offer worth £582.88m for Rotherham-based Harworth Group plc, a leading regenerator of land and property for sustainable development and investment.

The offer is expected to result in "a significant headcount reduction."

Created from what was UK Coal, Harworth Group owns, develops, and manages a portfolio of over 15,000 acres of strategic land over 100 sites located throughout the North of England and Midlands. With a focus on Grade A industrial and logistics (I&L) space and emerging opportunities in the data centre market, the company has a target of £1bn of EPRA NDV - EPRA NDV is how Harworth measures the value of the its assets.

Manchester's The Peel Group is a long-term investor in Harworth, having held various ownership interests in Harworth over a number of years. The Peel Holdings directors believe that Harworth's assets would be best owned, managed and developed under the full control of Peel Holdings.

In its announcement, Peel said that it feels that Harworth's administrative expenses and net interest expenses are too high and increasing, whilst the investment portfolio's passing rental income has decreased. It adds that it expects the EPRA NDV for the first hald of 2026 to be below 31 December 2025 levels following years of increases, and that the NDV target growth rate towards a £1bn valuation is "highly unlikely to be achieved."

The announcement added: "BidCo [Peel] considers Harworth's direct development and hold strategy to be capital-intensive, slow to deliver value and increasingly unable to generate appropriate risk-adjusted returns. As a result, BidCo believes the business should pivot toward strategic land activities and selective development, a model that has a lower cost base and is more effectively executed within a private-company structure."

The largest three shareholders own approximately 75.7% of Harworth's share capital and are being offered a significant premium of 36.9%. to the volume-weighted average share price over the last one-month period.

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Peel would de-list the business from the stock exchange and on jobs, the announcement said: "Following the Offer becoming or being declared unconditional, BidCo expects to review overlapping functions across the Harworth Group, including senior management, corporate, operational, finance, human resources, compliance and other support functions.

"Based on BidCo's preliminary assessment, the Offer is expected to result in a significant headcount reduction and synergies from overlapping functions and the elimination of costs associated with Harworth's status as a listed company. BidCo has not yet determined the number of roles likely to be affected, the timing of any reductions or the specific functions or locations in which any reductions may occur and will provide further information to affected employees in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements."

Harwoth only moved to purpose-built offices at its flagship Waverley development earlier this year. Peel said that it "has not yet determined whether any changes will be made to the location of Harworth's headquarters or headquarters functions, or to the locations of Harworth's other fixed places of business." Any changes will be considered as part of a review into Harworth's assets.

Peel said that it would review Harworth's fixed asset base, including its strategic land bank and investment portfolio, and then intends to accelerate the disposal of selected assets.

Recovery plans for Doncaster-based UK Coal were put in place in May 2011 when the group reported a £124.6m loss and had a £450m pension deficit. The subsequent restructure in 2012 saw the new company, Coalfield Resources, focus on targeting the realisation of its property assets through the Harworth Estates Property Group Limited. Harworth Estates was completely acquired by Coalfield Resources in 2014.

Harworth Group plc grew to be listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index.

The developer behind MediaCity in Salford and the Trafford Centre, The Peel Group has a chequered history in South Yorkshire, namely through the purchase and subsequent closure of the region's airports.

Harworth Group website
The Peel Group website

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News: Talks continue over Speciality Steel sale

Talks remain underway with the preferred bidder for Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), the Minister of State for Industry has confirmed.

Last August, a judge approved an application from creditors to place SSUK, previously part of Liberty Steel and GFG Alliance, into compulsory liquidation. Teneo Financial Advisory Limited were brought in as Special Managers whilst a formal sale process takes place.

The government committed £50m to keep the sites in Rotherham and Stocksbridge open throughout the bidding process. Multiple companies came forward with the government confident a buyer can be found.

In April, the official receiver announced a period of exclusivity with a preferred bidder. Marking the next stage of a future sale agreement, the announcement said that talks were "expected to last approximately five weeks, during which the preferred bidder will progress their bid."

Rotherham MP, Sarah Champion has received confirmation from Chris McDonald MP that those talks remain underway. Champion added: "He made very clear that he does not want the works to close and he is keen for the site to start production at the earliest possible time."

The Financial Times is reporting that Blastr is the preferred bidder.

The steel industry has been a hot topic in Westminster this month with a recent debate on the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill where Sarah Champion used the opportunity to highlight the importance of steel to Rotherham.

The MP said: "Rotherham is a steel town. It has seen the consequences of past Governments’ neglect up close. Speciality Steel, which is based in Rotherham—and Stocksbridge—should be a crown jewel in our economy, but it has been allowed to lurch from crisis to crisis, choked of investment and left at the mercy of unscrupulous ownership, unfair competition and a lack of vision. The plants currently stand still, shuttered amid the fallout of Liberty’s collapse. The workers are furloughed and uncertain about what their futures hold.

"My concern is not limited to Speciality Steel. Steel in Rotherham is at the centre of our local economy, and the crisis has had a substantial impact up and down the supply chain. The Minister’s ambition for steel’s renaissance could also be a rebirth for local businesses and local communities, but that requires investment, foresight and commitment. The Government’s steel strategy sets out a strategic vision for the industry and, crucially, delivers real and profound change for the sector as a whole. With £2.5 billion of investment in the sector and an ambitious but achievable target of 50% of the steel used in Britain to be produced here, the strategy is a blueprint for a revitalised domestic steel industry; it is one that has been roundly welcomed by the sector."

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In the same debate Chris McDonald MP, said: "That business [SSUK] shows the power of a productive Government intervention, working carefully with industry, because the Government have underwritten the costs of the official receiver to allow a proper sale of the business. The official receiver is in exclusive discussions with a potential buyer, and there was a high level of interest in the business from the market.

"As we look forward to the potential sale of the business, we can see the vital role that the Government have played in recognising that steel undertakings are complex, that it can be difficult and can take time to assess them, and that they require high levels of working capital. That contrasts significantly with Governments in the past, who allowed steel companies to close simply by not allowing that process to continue."

In a subsequent debate on steel tariffs, the minister said: "We all understand the position with Speciality Steel UK in Stocksbridge and Rotherham. That business is going through administration, and it was impossible for it to compete in the UK while there was an influx of subsidised steel.

"This Government have decided that we want to have a full aerospace supply chain, including our own speciality steels production. That is a different choice from the one that the previous Government made when they were approached by industry, offering to co-invest in that site and keep it open. They rebuffed all those responses, because their view was, “Leave it to the market, let the steel plants close.” We are making a different choice."

Images: SSUK

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News: Gulliver's brings Great British Summer Savings to Rotherham

The big name operator of a family theme park in Rotherham is backing the government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme designed to help people enjoy days out for less.

Visit Rotherham reports that from June 25 to September 1 2026, VAT will be slashed on eligible activities, helping families "enjoy the weekend treats, the days out, the small plans that make life enjoyable during the cost of living squeeze while supporting the businesses that depend on summer footfall."

Great British Summer Savings will be a targeted and temporary scheme, introduced alongside free bus travel for children that will run from August 1 to 31 and covers participating local bus services across England.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: "I want families to be able to enjoy the little treats this summer. Great British Summer Savings will help families enjoy time making memories together while boosting business across the UK.

"This comes on top of support we’ve already put in place including freezing fuel duty, taking off £117 off energy bills, and freezing prescriptions and rail fares – all to help families with the cost of living."

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The VAT rate on eligible activities will be cut from 20% to 5%. The reduced rate will apply to:

- Children’s menu meals served in restaurants for consumption on the premises
- Children’s and family tickets for cinemas, theatres, concerts, shows and exhibitions
- Admission tickets, for both children and adults, to a range of attractions, including: amusement parks, fairs, museums, zoos, soft play centres, circuses, adventure parks, nature reserves, wildlife parks and observation attractions.

The scheme is estimated to cost about £300m with £100m to fund the free fares scheme.

Julie Dalton, managing director of Gulliver’s Theme Park Resorts, said: "Government support for the UK’s visitor economy is always welcome, so it’s great to see the launch of the Great British Summer Savings Scheme which will help families get out and enjoy the fantastic attractions on their doorstep.

"At Gulliver’s, we’ve already applied these savings to ticket prices across our four UK resorts - Gulliver’s Kingdom in Matlock Bath, Gulliver’s World in Warrington, Gulliver’s Land in Milton Keynes and Gulliver’s Valley in Rotherham – so combined with our latest summer ticket offer, the next few weeks are the perfect time for families to come and enjoy great value days out with us.

"As a family-owned business, we understand the importance of providing affordable days out and short breaks for children, parents and carers and we’re proud to have been creating these fun-filled adventures and lasting memories for the last 48 years."

Opening adjacent to Rother Valley Country Park in 2020, Gulliver's Valley is the company's fourth park aimed at families with children aged two to 13-years-old and each offering a great variety of rides, attractions and accommodation options, as well as a calendar packed full of special events throughout the year.

Gulliver's Valley website

Images: Gulliver's

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