London, Jun 1 (IANS): Tata Steel on Wednesday said it has concluded the sale of its long products business in Europe to Greybull Capital, bringing some respite to the division's 4,800 employees in UK and France.

This deal is aside the group's plan to sell the entire UK steel business for which talks are on.

"As a responsible seller, Tata Steel is delighted to have secured a buyer for the (long products) business and we hope under Greybull, the business will continue the momentum of the improvement program that has been initiated in the last 12 months," said Tata Steel UK CEO Bimlendra Jha.

"Employees and trade unions have worked closely with the long products Europe management team to improve the business's prospects, putting it in a more competitive position than it has been for many years," he said.

The unit will now trade under the British Steel brand.

The long products Europe business in the UK includes the Scunthorpe steel works, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York and associated distribution facilities, besides a rail mill in northern France

All together, the business employs 4,800 people - 4,400 in the UK and 400 in France.