42% Micro
38% Small
11% Mid
6% Large
2% Mega
INSIGHTS - MARCH 2025
UK Steel Industry
UK Steel Industry Information
The basic metals industry involves smelting or refining metals from ore or scrap to produce basic metals products such as plate, sheet, strip, bars, rods, wire, tubes and pipes.
Active Businesses
2,067
Annual Sales
£20bn +
Employees
59,716
Economic Contribution
£4bn
Tags
Location of Steel Companies
Steel Companies by Size
Largest Steel Companies
Turnover
Johnson Matthey Plc
£12.8bn
Tata Steel Uk Limited
£2.6bn
Celsa (Uk) Holdings Limited
£662.2m
Steel Companies by Age
45% Mature
23% Established
18% Young
14% Startup
0% New
Oldest Steel Companies
Established
Rical Limited
1906
Fastest Growing Steel Companies
31% Healthy
25% Declining
23% High
12% Rapid
9% Low
Fastest Growing Steel Companies
3yr CAGR
Steel Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers
Steel Industry Valuation
EBITDA Multiple
Steel Industry Valuation
Turnover Multiple
Steel Industry Valuation
Net Asset Multiple
Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Manufacture of basic metals Industry Insights
There are 2,067 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £20 billion .
The Industry employs around 59,715 people and contributes £4 billion to the economy.
The most popular location for Steel companies is West Midlands with 399 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 57.
The largest Steel company is Johnson Matthey Plc with a turnover of £12.8bn. 42% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 11% Mid companies.
14% of the Steel Industry is made up of 14% Startup but the majority are Mature businesses (45%) the oldest company is Joseph And Jesse Siddons Limited founded in 1881.
Steel industry has a number of high growth companies (12%), the fastest growing company is Bridge Aluminium Limited with a 3 year growth rate of 117%. Other fast growing companies include F. Brazil Reinforcements Limited (46%), Castalum Limited (44%) and The Commonwealth Mint & Philatelic Bureau Ltd (40%).
The UK Steel Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 7.43x, Turnover multiple of 0.91x and a Net Asset multiple of 1.62x.
