THE cost of offloading North- East steelworks cost a company about £370m – but bosses say the move will give the business a firmer footing.

Latest figures show Tata Steel suffered the hit after selling its Long Products division to investor Greybull Capital.

Officials said the sale contributed to a net loss of £358m in the quarter to June 30.

However, the company said the deal, understood to be worth £1, had helped its European division, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the period standing at a positive £90m compared to a loss of £64m in the prior three months.

The results came as Tata continues to assess ways of restructuring its UK business to focus on high-value strip products.

Earlier this year, The Northern Echo revealed Liberty House was nearing an agreement to take on part of Tata’s Hartlepool pipe mills and secure about 250 jobs.

Bosses have now confirmed shortlisted bidders are carrying out due diligence and added they are speaking to the Government and unions to find a solution over Tata’s pension bill, which is believed to be worth around £15bn and a major barrier to the sale of any remaining plants.

Koushik Chatterjee, group executive director for finance and corporate affairs, said the company, which saw liquid steel production fall on a year ago as it switched focus to higher-value products, was making progress to address its fortunes.

However, he admitted it may suffer from slower UK economic growth, owing to the EU referendum result.

He added: “The positive impact of the restructuring in the UK along with a weaker pound, cost reduction measures and an effective strategy on raw material imports have enabled the business to report better performance.

“With the completion of the Long Products divestment, we will focus on being a premium strip player and employees continue to strive to improve the business performance.

“We are engaged with unions, the Trustee and the Government to find a solution to the pension exposure.”

Tata’s focus on progress is extended to its Hartlepool pipe mills.

Industry sources last month told the Echo talks over some of the mills, which help process steel for the offshore energy sector, were at an advanced stage.

However, Liberty, which earlier this year bought two Tata Scottish mills, previously declined to comment on the reports, while Tata would only confirm it remained in talks with interested parties.

Long Products, which includes the Teesside Beam Mill, near Redcar, a special profiles plant in Skinningrove, east Cleveland, and a Darlington steel finishing site, is now known as British Steel after Greybull rebranded the business.

Officials say the Beam Mill has since achieved its best manufacturing quarter for almost a decade and is due to roll steel for Scunthorpe United’s new 12,000-seat football stadium.