Steel tycoon holds ‘urgent' talks to save UK factories from nationalisation

Telegraph

21-05-2025

Steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is holding 'urgent' talks to try and stave off the nationalisation of his plants in Rotherham and Bolton.
Speciality Steel UK, part of Mr Gupta's GFG Alliance, told the High Court on Wednesday that it was holding 'urgent meetings' with an unnamed investor interested in taking over the business.
The company, which makes speciality products, is facing the threat of being liquidated after a group of disgruntled suppliers that are owed money took Speciality Steel to court.
However, in a dramatic twist that was agreed at the last moment, the creditors agreed to a delay in the proceedings to allow Mr Gupta to attempt to negotiate a sale.
If deal talks fail, the threat of compulsory liquidation would be revived and the Rotherham and Bolton factories, which employ 1,450 people, could be nationalised.
It is thought that ministers have not ruled out taking over the plants, which MPs have described as strategic national assets, but this would not be contemplated before insolvency.
The Government recently stepped in to save bigger producer British Steel amid a row with its Chinese owners over plans to shut down the last blast furnaces at its plant in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.
Speaking for GFG in court on Wednesday, barrister Daniel Judd told Judge Sebastian Prentis that the steel plant's owner had been working on a turnaround plan that was withdrawn last week. Since then, the company has been scrambling to examine other options.
Now a 'third party investor' has emerged, Mr Judd said, adding: 'Urgent meetings have been taking place to advance this.'
He added that the potential deal was also expected to benefit Speciality Steel's creditors, of which there are hundreds in total.
Mr Judd told Judge Prentis: 'The business is a hugely important steel undertaking in the North East.'
As a result, the judge ruled that the proceedings would be adjourned until July 16 to allow time for a potential deal to be struck.
A spokesman for GFG who attended court was unable to immediately provide further details about the mystery investor.
Mr Gupta's plans for restructuring Speciality Steel collapsed after he failed to secure backing from the creditors of Greensill Capital, the troubled finance provider he had previously worked closely with.
The tycoon is also thought to have approached the UK Government for support but was rebuffed.
The Gupta Family Group Alliance (GFG) is a conglomerate spanning energy, steel and trading, employing more than 30,000 people.
Mr Gupta, its executive chairman, made a name for himself as a saviour of steel jobs by buying up troubled plants and factories around the world and vowing to revive their fortunes. He owns steelworks in England, Scotland and Wales, all of which were previously threatened with closure.
But his family's business has been in trouble ever since the collapse of Greensill in 2021, which left GFG scrambling for funding.
Mr Gupta also faced another blow that year when it emerged that his empire was under investigation by the UK's Serious Fraud Office. GFG has said it is cooperating.