The UK steel<\/a> sector is struggling in the face of high domestic energy prices, US tariffs and a glut of steel on the world market.<\/p>\n Union leaders are pushing the government<\/a> to use its long-overdue steel strategy, expected this autumn, to reshape and consolidate the industry so it has a greater chance at a more stable future, rather than lurching from crisis to crisis.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s Official Receiver has taken control of Speciality Steel, which was wound up this week. Restructuring advisory firm Teneo is acting as the special manager while a search for a rescue buyer continues.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s decision to step in and oversee Speciality Steel\u2019s insolvency comes after it seized control of British Steel earlier this year.<\/p>\n Despite the state\u2019s role in overseeing the Official Receiver, the government does not own Speciality Steel or have a direct say in its management. However, the government is funding the wages of 1,450 people employed by Liberty Speciality Steel across six sites in Rotherham and Sheffield, the running cost of the plants and the fees of Teneo\u2019s advisers.<\/p>\n Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of steelworkers union Community, said: \u201cWe welcome the government\u2019s intervention which is yet another demonstration of our Labour government\u2019s commitment to delivering for steelworkers and our vital foundation industry. <\/p>\n \u201cHowever, in taking control of the business the government has assumed responsibility for our livelihoods and our communities, and we will of course be holding them to account.\u201d<\/p>\n A government spokesman confirmed that all the fees would be funded for the next two weeks out of the Department for Business and Trade\u2019s internal budget.<\/p>\n Court filings indicate Speciality Steel had an immediate cash need of \u00a33.7mn to cover staffing costs and required a total of \u00a36.8mn for cash flow over the next four weeks. <\/p>\n Speciality Steel\u2019s site is \u201ceffectively mothballed\u201d with no customers placing orders for the past three months, Gupta\u2019s advisers told the court this week. As a result, the government will also be bearing the cost of getting the site up and running again.<\/p>\n The funding situation would be reassessed in a fortnight amid government hopes that a rescue buyer could be found, the government spokesman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n If a buyer is not found, the government will have to consider whether it can stretch the department\u2019s budget further or whether it has to tap the National Wealth Fund, which has already been repurposed to provide the bulk of funding for the Sizewell C nuclear project<\/a>. The government has already committed up to \u00a32.5bn through the National Wealth Fund for the steel industry, which is seen as critically important for the defence sector and the transition to clean energy.<\/p>\n
![\"Port](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/https:\/\/d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net\/production\/a61ab877-7e01-44d4-9b67-080ea2a1de7e.jpg\")
The Port Talbot steelworks. The government last year provided a \u00a3500mn subsidy to Tata Steel to help transition the Port Talbot site to an electric arc furnace \u00a9 CW Images\/Alamy<\/p>\n![\"Lorry](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n