UK's third-largest steel producer pushed into compulsory liquidation

One of the UK's past remaining alloy companies has been pushed into compulsory liquidation.

Speciality Steels UK (SSUK), portion of the Liberty Steel empire owned by metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, employs astir 1,500 radical astatine sites successful Rotherham and respective different locations crossed South Yorkshire.

Behind Tata Steel and British Steel, it is the third-largest alloy shaper successful the country.

Sky News reported that negotiations had been underway for a woody to rescue the firm, however, they look to person been rendered unsuccessful.

In a connection today, GFG Alliance main transformational officer, Jeffrey Kabel said: "The determination to propulsion Speciality Steel UK into compulsory liquidation, particularly erstwhile we person enactment from the world's largest plus manager to resume operations and facilitate creditor recovery, is irrational.

"The program that GFG presented to the tribunal would person secured caller concern successful the UK alloy industry, protecting jobs and establishing a sustainable operational level nether a caller governance operation with autarkic oversight.

"Instead, liquidation volition present enforce prolonged uncertainty and important costs connected UK taxpayers for settlements and related expenses, contempt the availability of a commercialized solution.

"Liberty has pursued each options to marque its SSUK viable, including ratio improvements, reorganisations, lawsuit support, respective attempts to find a purchaser for the concern and intensive negotiations with creditors to restructure indebtedness liabilities. Liberty's shareholder has invested astir £200m, recognising the captious relation alloy plays successful supplying the UK's strategical defence, aerospace and vigor industries.

"GFG volition present proceed to beforehand its bid for the concern successful collaboration with prospective indebtedness and equity partners and volition contiguous its program to the authoritative receiver. GFG continues to judge it has the ideas, absorption expertise and committedness to pb SSUK into the aboriginal and pull large investment. GFG's different important concern interests successful the UK stay unaffected.

"Despite galore challenges facing the radical and the hard marketplace conditions, GFG has invested implicit £2bn into the UK system since 2013, ensuring the endurance of galore GFG businesses contempt operating losses and safeguarding thousands of jobs that would different person been lost."

Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, said GFG's connection was "full of hollow promises".

She added: "We cognize Liberty is simply a aureate goose, but 1 they person starved for years.

"The speciality alloy we marque is unsocial and successful precocious demand, it makes nary fiscal consciousness that GFG furloughed the works for astir 2 years.

"Strategically, the authorities cannot let Liberty Steel to fail. I americium assured they volition bash each successful their powerfulness to fto it flourish."

Sky News has approached the authorities for comment.

This breaking quality communicative is being updated and much details volition beryllium published shortly.

Please refresh the leafage for the latest version.

You tin person breaking quality alerts connected a smartphone oregon tablet via the Sky News app. You tin besides follow america connected WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to support up with the latest news.