Where it all began

The GFG story started back in 1992 when Sanjeev Gupta founded the commodities trading business, Liberty House Group, while studying at Cambridge University.  

When the business launched, Liberty House traded many products and commodities including steel, soft commodities, chemicals and fertilisers, however over time, this has narrowed to focus on metals and steel-based trading.   

Joining in 2008, Liberty Commodities Chief Executive Officer Paul Francis has seen the business through tough times and good, surviving the Global Financial Crisis and going on build a global presence from hubs in London, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.  

“We trade in steel and base metals including copper, lead, nickel, tin, zinc and cobalt – cobalt is very hot right now because it’s used in batteries,” Paul said.

“It’s all about moving with market trends and being agile,” he added.    

The establishment of our US hub also supports the organic growth of Liberty Commodities.  

Where we used to bring commodities in, store them and then sell them to a trader, we can now trade directly with the end user, said Paul.    

In terms of the business model Paul is fostering for the future it’s very much about natural growth, being across as many verticals as possible, and developing and maintaining long term relationships with customers and suppliers.  

Paul emphasised the importance of strong long-standing relationships:

Some of our relationships go back over 25 years. We like to partner for the long-term and grow with our suppliers and clients.

He is also looking forward to offering financial solutions to clients through the Wyelands business, helping them with things like prepayments, inventory finance, tolling finance and open credit. “Introducing our primary clients to Wyelands will be key for us in terms of growing the business and leveraging the broader GFG offering,” said Paul.