Sanjeev Gupta seeks to reclaim UK steel business
The Indian-born steel magnate is working on a pre-pack administration of Liberty Steel's Speciality Steel UK , which has plants in Yorkshire and Lancashire and employs 1,400 people.
The move would require creditors such as HMRC and the Swiss bank UBS to agree to a court-sanctioned transaction that would shed the speciality steel arm of its debts and tax liabilities. These are reported to run to hundreds of millions of pounds.
The Stocksbridge plant of Liberty Steel, run by British Indian Sanjeev Gupta, offers high value finished products
ALAMY
Gupta would have just days to pull off his plan as the courts are due to hear a winding-up petition on Wednesday that could force the speciality steel business into compulsory liquidation, under which a court-appointed Official Receiver would run the business.
However, the court has previously agreed to adjourn proceedings and Sky News quoted sources close to Gupta as saying he could secure a further adjournment of the winding-up petition.
The Yorkshire operations employ more than 1,400 people and claim to be part of Britain's third-largest steel producer. The Rotherham works uses an electric arc furnace. The speciality steel business — known as SSUK — also has operations at Bolton in Lancashire.
A spokesperson for Liberty Steel said: 'Discussions are ongoing to finalise options for SSUK. We remain committed to identifying a solution that preserves electric arc furnace steelmaking in the UK — a critical national capability supporting strategic supply chains. We continue to work towards an outcome that best serves the interests of creditors, employees, and the broader community.'
Gupta lives in Dubai with his wife, Nicola, and their three children and has been fighting to revive his business empire after being linked to the collapse of Lex Greensill's business empire. His Gupta Family Group Alliance — the parent company of Liberty Steel — has been the subject of a Serious Fraud Office investigation since 2022.
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