Concern on steel jobs as firm’s main lender is in administration
Worries have been raised over the future of thousands of steel worker jobs, including many in the Black Country, after Liberty Steel’s main lender filed for administration.
Liberty, one of the UK’s biggest steel companies, has said it has “adequate funding” for its current needs.
Bosses at GFG Alliance, which owns Liberty Steel, met with unions yesterday, saying they were looking for refinancing options after the collapse of Greensill Capital.
Lawyers for Greensill Capital appeared in court on Monday to appoint administrators from Grant Thornton.
Greensill lends money to businesses so they can pay their suppliers. One of its major customers is Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, which owns 29-year-old Liberty Steel including Liberty Speciality Steels – Bright Bar in All Saints Road, Wednesbury, and 11 other steel plants in the UK including in Rotherham, Motherwell, Stocksbridge, Newport and Hartlepool.
Mr Gupta’s business empire employs around 5,000 people in the UK, about 3,000 of whom work for Liberty Steel including 73 at Wednesbury.
“While Greensill’s difficulties have created a challenging situation, we have adequate funding for our current needs,” GFG said in a statement.
It added: “Discussions to secure alternative long-term funding are progressing well but will take some time to organise.”
