The UK government is developing a plan to take ownership of Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), the nation’s third-largest steelworks operator, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds announced to MPs on Monday.
SSUK operates major sites in Rotherham and Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire, as well as Wednesbury in the West Midlands. The firm, which is part of the Liberty Steel group, entered administration last year following a High Court liquidation order, prompting the government to assume interim control.
Reynolds revealed that while a private bidder submitted a proposal earlier this year, ministers declined to support it. Officials cited significant reservations regarding the deal’s financing structure and the adequacy of protections for taxpayers.
Consequently, the government will intervene in the official receiver sale process to pursue a public acquisition. Reynolds stated that allowing the liquidation to proceed without intervention would risk leaving the state with no influence over the future of these strategic sites.
“We can allow events to take their course through the liquidation process and risk being left with no say in the future of these sites, or we can act,” Reynolds told the House of Commons. “We will therefore engage with the official receiver sale process and develop a proposal for the public acquisition of SSUK.”
The move is intended to preserve strategic oversight and buy time for a comprehensive assessment of the business. Reynolds indicated that future spending and decisions would be subject to detailed due diligence and drawn from existing government budgets. This period would allow ministers to evaluate potential industrial uses, regeneration projects, and the role of specialist manufacturing in boosting national resilience.
Production at SSUK was halted several months ago, leaving approximately 1,300 employees on furlough with reduced wages. Addressing the workforce directly, the Business Secretary pledged to do everything possible to secure a positive future for the staff, their communities, and their families.
I wonder if public ownership will bring the same efficiency as private bids? Taxpayers deserve better than extended furlough cycles.
Nationalisation is a necessary shield here. Strategic industries cannot be left to market failures that erase vital manufacturing capacity.