UK's largest bioethanol plant to shut in September ‘unless Government acts'
The UK's largest bioethanol plant says it will stop production by mid-September unless the Government acts, following the recent trade deal with the United States.
Hull-based Vivergo Fuels said that, given 'the strategic importance of a domestic ethanol supply', the Government has committed to formal negotiations to reach a 'sustainable solution'.
But the firm, which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), said on Thursday that it is simultaneously beginning consultation with staff to wind down the plant, which employs more than 160 people, due to the uncertain situation.
The Government described the company's announcement as 'disappointing', coming as it had entered into negotiations with Vivergo about financial support on Wednesday.
The firm said in a statement: 'Unless the Government is able to provide both short-term funding of Vivergo's losses and a longer-term solution, we intend to close the plant once the consultation process has completed and the business has fulfilled its contractual obligations.
'We would cease all manufacturing before the end of our financial year on September 13 2025.'
The statement said: 'In our interim results announcement on April 29 2025, we stated that the commercial viability of Vivergo, our bioethanol business, was being undermined by the way in which the UK Government was applying regulations to imported ethanol.
'Since then, the situation has been made significantly worse by the UK's trade deal with the US, which will allow tariff-free US ethanol into the UK.
'ABF has engaged in extensive discussions with the Government to find a financial and regulatory solution that would enable Vivergo to operate on a profitable and sustainable basis.
'Yesterday, our extended deadline for the Government to deliver that solution passed.'
Last month, Vivergo wrote to the wheat farmers who supply it, telling them it will have to close unless there is quick Government intervention.
It said the removal of a 19% tariff on US ethanol imports, which formed part of the recent UK-US trade deal, was the 'final blow'.
The bioethanol industry says the deal has made it impossible to compete with heavily subsidised American products.
Vivergo said the Hull plant can produce up to 420 million litres of bioethanol from wheat sourced from thousands of UK farms.
It described bioethanol production as 'a key national strategic asset' which helps reduce emissions from petrol and is expected to be a key component in sustainable aircraft fuel in the future.
The plant is also the UK's largest single production site for animal feed and the company says it indirectly supports about 4,000 jobs in the Humber and Lincolnshire region.
A Government spokesperson said: 'We recognise this is a concerning time for workers and their families and it is disappointing to see this announcement after we entered into negotiations with the company on financial support yesterday.
'We will continue to take proactive steps to address the long-standing challenges the company faces and remain committed to working closely with them throughout this period to present a plan for a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods.'
The Government said the bioethanol industry has been facing significant challenges for some time and officials and ministers have met with Ensus and Vivergo consistently over the last few months to address the challenges.
It said both the business and transport secretaries met with representatives from the industry on June 10 and engagement with the companies 'will continue at pace' to assess potential solutions, with the help of external consultants.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Norway's €19bn software company Visma picks London for IPO
The €19bn Norwegian software company Visma has picked London over Amsterdam for its planned flotation next year, giving a much-needed boost to the London stock market. The company, which makes accounting, payroll and HR software products for 2.1 million customers across Northern Europe and Latin America, has yet to make a final decision but London is the frontrunner, it is understood. Visma is thought to have picked London for its initial public offering (IPO) because of its deep capital markets and the presence of more investors who focus solely on buying UK stocks compared with those who purchase only Dutch equities, in news first reported by the Financial Times. It would be a rare win for London's stock exchange, which has been hit by an exodus of big names such as the drugmaker Indivior, which recently opted for a sole listing on the US Nasdaq, and the Anglo-German travel group Tui, which last year switched to a sole listing in Frankfurt. In 2024, the London market lost 88 companies that delisted or transferred their primary listing elsewhere, the most since the 2008-09 financial crisis, according to analysis by EY. The decision is contingent on implementation of reforms by the UK government and the London Stock Exchange, to offset complications caused by Brexit. Visma, headquartered in Oslo, is 70%-owned by the London-based private equity firm Hg Capital. Hg, the UK's second-biggest private equity firm behind the Jersey-based CVC Capital Partners, decided two decades ago to focus on software investments. HG helped to take Visma private from the Oslo stock exchange in 2006 at a valuation of nearly £330m, when it stepped in as a white knight investor after Visma received a hostile bid from the UK software group Sage. Since then, Visma has grown every quarter, and expanded through 350 bolt-on acquisitions. It has 16,400 employees and reported revenues of €2.8bn last year, with nearly 12% organic growth. It made underlying profits of €893m. Other investors include Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, the Singaporean private equity firm Intermediate Capital Group, Canada's CPP Investments and the Texas-based private equity group TPG. Visma's management team, led by the chief executive, Merete Hverven, and group employees together own 6.4%. She joined the company in 2011 and took the helm in March 2020. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Visma, the largest privately owned software company in Europe, previously considered listing in 2023 but amid market volatility decided to raise funds from private investors instead. Visma and Hg declined to comment.
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Pearson and Google team up to bring AI learning tools to classrooms
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Pearson (PSON.L), opens new tab has entered a multi-year partnership with Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google cloud service, providing students with AI learning tools that also make teachers' jobs easier, the British education company said on Thursday. The tie-up will focus on creating personalised learning tools powered by Google's advanced artificial intelligence models for students in primary and secondary school. The tools will adapt to each student's pace and needs, while also helping teachers track performance and tailor lessons, the companies said in a statement. Pearson Chief Executive Omar Abbosh said AI could help reshape school education by replacing uniform teaching methods with personalised learning paths tailored to individual students. Pearson has also signed multi-year AI-focused partnerships with Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Amazon's (AMZN.O), opens new tab cloud computing services, as part of its efforts to personalise learning and offer more digital education tools.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lioncroft Wholesale CEO: 'Technology drives us forward, but let's not forget the risks'
We all recognise the many, many ways technology enables us to innovate and scale. Virtually every UK business relies upon the latest technologies to keep the wheels of industry turning. Technology is how we manage our systems, process orders, handle data, support our people and communicate with the outside world. Technology is the very backbone of our business, leaving us woefully unprepared for if, and when, things go wrong. And go wrong they have, in recent weeks. It has been impossible to miss the news headlines screaming loud about cyber attacks which have wreaked havoc on UK household names such as M&S, the Co-op and Harrods, to name just three. M&S was first struck in April, and as we go to press in June, the business is still in recovery mode with a return to normal not expected until July. Their once-full shelves are now dotted with availability gaps – the ultimate nightmare for a retailer – while their previously booming online sales were brought to an abrupt halt as the company's systems were hacked and disabled. As if this weren't enough, M&S must also brace itself for class action data lawsuits after private data, including millions of customers' household information, telephone numbers and dates of birth, was leaked as a result of the attack. The impact financially is staggering. The losses to the British high street stalwart look set to be unprecedented – Bank of America Global Research predicted the losses to equate to £43m per week, and estimated to run to more than £400m in total – acting as a harsh wake-up call for every business to think more about the technology it relies upon. And this is without taking into consideration the reputational damage an incident like this can cause. The PR spin about technology – always on, always working – has made it a business essential. After all, technology never has an off day, it doesn't make mistakes. It doesn't get ill, tired or burnout. It doesn't get distracted from the task at hand by an unscheduled meeting or an unexpected phone call. It completes the task efficiently and accurately, and moves on to the next. Until it doesn't. So how can it go wrong? Stuart Machin, CEO of M&S, described the security breach as the result of 'social engineering' which came about from 'human error' via a 'third party' although this has yet to be confirmed by the company's internal investigation. In other words, we are the weakest link. We open emails, click on links, share passwords, leave laptops on trains… the list goes on. While it is people that operate the technology, there will always be risks, it is unavoidable. As M&S continue to repair, the smart businesses will now be using this incident as a learning exercise. Every business, regardless of size and sector, is a potential target, so what can we learn from this? Are we protected? How would we respond? These are the questions we must ask ourselves. The fact is, when it comes to cyber protection, the work is never done. A constant stream of new threats are defeated by even newer solutions, and protecting your business goes far beyond strong passwords and the latest virus protection. The experts all agree that businesses need multi-layers of protection to secure their systems, combined with insurance. Are you thinking ahead? We're told that M&S had carried out a cyber attack simulation the previous year and could tap into the learnings from this, responding quickly and effectively. Its business continuity plan kicked in, minimising further damage. Yes, cyber insurance is essential, but as many business owners have found, it is costly, complex and limited with what it will deliver. Explore the options carefully and with caution. While we focus on our systems, of course we must also focus on our people. It is our responsibility to equip staff with the knowledge they need to recognise threats and the tactics used by cyberhackers to ensure your business has a culture of security awareness. There is no doubt that technology is our friend, but let's never forget that it can quickly turn to work against us, as well as for us. Dr Jason Wouhra OBE is CEO of Lioncroft Wholesale, one of the UK's leading food and drink wholesalers. He is also Chancellor of Aston University and Chair of Unitas Wholesale, the UK's largest wholesale buying group.
