Indian-origin metal tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has said he will invest £120 million in Britain's last aluminium smelter as part of a deal to rescue the site and safeguard hundreds of local jobs.
Gupta's Liberty House and his father's related business, Simec, will pay around £330 million to buy the plant at Lochaber, in the western Scottish Highlands, and two hydro-electric plants that power it.
The group has committed to invest a further £120 million, creating up to 600 jobs in coming years, Gupta said.
Gupta's plans include creating an aluminium wheel manufacturing facility with 300 jobs directly and another 300 in the supply chain.
Overall, the Guptas estimate that the investment will generate up to 2,000 jobs in the supply chain and add £1bn to the local economy in the next decade.
Gupta is executive chairman of Liberty House Group and of the wider family concern - GFG Alliance - strategic board.
Liberty has also said that it aims to protect the existing 170 jobs at Lochaber and expand metal manufacturing and downstream engineering in the region.
Besides the smelter and the hydroelectric plants, the latest acquisition includes a 100,000-acre estate which captures rainwater to power the hydro-electric generators.
