The British government is preparing to take control of Liberty Steel’s Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), in Rotherham, led by Sanjeev Gupta, in a bid to safeguard the business and protect 1,500 jobs, according to local media reports.
SSUK has struggled financially since the collapse of Liberty’s main lender, leaving it unable to purchase scrap metal and burdened with mounting debts. Creditors owed hundreds of millions have petitioned the court to liquidate the company, while the High Court heard that the government’s official receiver is ready to step in as administrator if a rescue deal with US investment giant BlackRock fails.
Gupta’s GFG Alliance, which owns Liberty Steel, has faced legal claims and criminal probes since the 2021 collapse of Greensill Capital.
A state takeover of SSUK would mark another costly intervention in Britain’s troubled steel industry, following the government’s earlier move to assume control of British Steel to prevent the closure of blast furnaces in Scunthorpe.
