Government takes control of UK’s third-largest steelworks after collapse Industrials The UK government has taken control of the country’s third-largest steelworks as near 1,500 workers face uncertainty. Speciality Steels UK (SSUK), which owns major sites such as Liberty Steel in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was put into compulsory liquidation after insolvency courts granted a winding-up order sought by creditors. The creditors said they were owned hundreds [...]
BHP profit hits five-year low amid weaker iron ore prices Business Profit at BHP has slumped to a five-year low as lower iron ore prices and economic turbulence have hit the mining giant. The firm posted underlying attributable profit of $10.2bn (£7.6bn) in the year to June, a decline of 26 per cent compared to last year and the lowest since the start of the pandemic [...]
Firms stumped up extra £29bn for ‘astronomical’ energy costs Industrials British industry has had to fork out an additional £29bn to fund rising energy costs over the past four years, a fresh analysis has shown, adding further weight to calls for government bring down energy prices for British firms when it publishes its industrial strategy. According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), firms’ [...]
One in ten retail jobs at risk in the next three years June 6, 2025 Cost pressures in UK retail mean one in ten jobs are at risk of disappearing by 2028, according to a new report. The number of jobs in retail has already dropped by over 350,000 since 2015, a fall nearly ten times bigger than the total number of jobs in the steel industry, the British Retail [...]
Trump tariffs: UK to dodge 50 per cent steel and aluminium levies June 4, 2025 President Trump exempted UK industry from a doubling of the rate of steel and aluminium tariffs up to 50 per cent, but businesses will still face a 25 per cent levy until a new trading relationship with the US is finalised. Though industry bosses had been braced to be hit by the 50 per cent [...]
After British Steel, what else will the government nab for national security? April 21, 2025 The potential nationalisation of British Steel in the name of 'national security' must make us ask what the government will justify next, writes Eliot Wilson.
British Steel: ‘Anti-China rhetoric’ criticised as ‘absurd’ by embassy April 16, 2025 China’s embassy in Britain has criticised the “arrogance, ignorance and twisted mindset” of UK politicians towards Chinese business, as it defended British Steel’s owner Jingye. It comes after Jonathan Reynolds said that the nationalisation of the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe is the “likely option at this stage”, while stressing the need to secure a [...]
British Steel: Reynolds would view Chinese firms in ‘different way’ April 15, 2025 Jonathan Reynolds has said he would “look at a Chinese firm in a different way” from those of other nations on involvement in the UK steel industry. But the business secretary has insisted the UK government took control of British Steel because of “one specific company”, and did not rule out Chinese firms being involved [...]
British Steel: No 10 won’t rule out future Chinese involvement in steel making April 14, 2025 No 10 has declined to rule out future Chinese involvement in steel making, amid a race to keep the British Steel furnaces alight in Scunthorpe. The UK government has now said it is “confident” it will beat a race against time to keep the site running after taking control of the plant from Chinese owners [...]
British Steel: No10 ‘confident’ it will secure materials to keep plant running April 14, 2025 The UK government is confident it will beat a race against time to keep the British Steel furnaces running after taking control of the plant from Chinese owners Jingye this weekend. Civil servants and steel workers were rushing to secure the raw materials to keep the Scunthorpe site’s furnaces going – which supply Network Rail [...]