Britain’s steel industry is once again teetering on the brink, as Sanjeev Gupta, the embattled metals magnate, orchestrates a last-ditch plan to rescue his flagship UK operations from the jaws of compulsory liquidation. According to reports from Sky News and The Sunday Times on August 16, 2025, Gupta is racing against the clock to engineer what’s known as a “connected pre-pack administration” for Liberty Steel’s Speciality Steel UK (SSUK) arm—a move that could determine the fate of nearly 1,500 jobs across northern England.
SSUK, Britain’s third-largest steel producer, operates major plants in Sheffield and Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and maintains a facility in Bolton, Lancashire. Collectively, these sites employ more than 1,400 workers and supply high-grade alloy and stainless steel products to critical industries such as aerospace, automotive, and oil and gas. Yet, the future of these strategically important assets now hangs in the balance, with a winding-up petition scheduled to be heard in court on August 20—a proceeding that could trigger immediate liquidation if Gupta’s gambit fails.
At the heart of Gupta’s plan is a controversial maneuver: the assets of SSUK would be sold, potentially to parties linked to Gupta himself, after shedding hundreds of millions of pounds in tax and other liabilities owed to creditors. This so-called pre-pack arrangement, orchestrated with the assistance of accountancy firm Begbies Traynor, would see the business emerge from administration stripped of its debts—a prospect that has stirred fierce opposition from creditors, including HM Revenue and Customs and UBS, the Swiss investment bank that rescued Credit Suisse (a major backer of the now-collapsed Greensill Capital, which itself had multibillion-pound exposure to Gupta’s parent company, GFG Alliance).
“Discussions are ongoing to finalise options for SSUK,” a Liberty Steel spokesperson told Sky News. “We remain committed to identifying a solution that preserves electric arc furnace steelmaking in the UK—a critical national capability supporting strategic supply chains. We continue to work towards an outcome that best serves the interests of creditors, employees, and the broader community.”
The urgency of the situation is palpable. If the winding-up petition—filed by Harsco Metals Group, a supplier to SSUK and supported by other trade creditors—is approved next Wednesday, SSUK could be forced into compulsory liquidation within days. In that scenario, a special manager would be appointed by the Official Receiver to oversee operations, and the fate of the workforce would be thrown into immediate jeopardy. Government officials have already ramped up contingency planning, bracing for the possibility of a collapse that could send shockwaves through the UK’s manufacturing heartland.
The looming crisis is the latest chapter in years of financial turmoil for Gupta’s steel empire. The collapse of Lex Greensill’s global finance business in March 2021, amid mounting concerns over asset valuations, left Liberty Steel’s finances in tatters. According to The Sunday Times, Liberty Steel’s Rotherham and Motherwell plants have not produced any steel since 2024 due to a lack of funds for raw materials. Grant Thornton, administrators for Greensill, estimate that GFG Alliance owes the financing operation some £472 million. The Serious Fraud Office launched a probe into GFG in 2022, further clouding the group’s prospects.
The uncertainty has left workers and unions exasperated. Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at the steelworkers’ union Community, called for an end to the “chaos.” As quoted in The Sunday Times, he said: “Liberty Steel’s dedicated UK workforce has had to live in a state of uncertainty for far too long. The chaos must end. We need to see a long-term solution which safeguards jobs and gets these strategically important assets producing again as soon as possible.”
Gupta, who resides in Dubai with his wife and three children, has seen his sprawling business network come under intense scrutiny. Other segments of his empire are also showing signs of distress. In May, The Financial Times reported that administrators were being called in to oversee the insolvency of Liberty Commodities, another GFG entity. Earlier this month, The Guardian revealed that HMRC had filed a winding-up petition against Liberty Pipes, yet another subsidiary.
Despite the mounting challenges, Gupta has not stopped seeking lifelines. During the pandemic, he appealed to the UK government for aid—a request that ministers ultimately rejected. More recently, he explored whether legislation used to seize control of British Steel’s operations in Scunthorpe could be leveraged to support SSUK, but Whitehall insiders told Sky News those overtures were rebuffed.
Meanwhile, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is keeping a close watch on developments. Last month, The Guardian reported that Reynolds had not ruled out stepping in to provide support to Liberty Steel, though no decision appears imminent. A government spokesperson echoed this cautious stance, telling The Sunday Times: “We continue to closely monitor developments around Liberty Steel, including any public hearings, which are a matter for the company.”
The government’s approach to the steel sector has varied in recent months. In April, ministers intervened to stop the Chinese owners of British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces from shutting them down, effectively seizing control of the company. A formal decision to nationalize British Steel is anticipated in the autumn. Meanwhile, Tata Steel, owner of Britain’s largest steelworks at Port Talbot, has secured a £500 million government grant to construct a new electric arc furnace, part of a broader effort to make UK steel greener and more competitive.
SSUK’s own recent history underscores both its strategic value and the headwinds it faces. The company claims to have invested nearly £200 million in the UK steel industry over the past five years, but admits that soaring energy costs and an over-reliance on cheap imports have severely undermined the performance of all UK steelmakers. The Rotherham works, which use an electric arc furnace, are seen as vital for the country’s transition to greener steel production—a capability that both industry leaders and government officials view as critical for supporting national supply chains.
The winding-up petition being heard this week follows a previous adjournment in May, after SSUK’s lawyers told the court that talks were underway with a “third-party purchaser.” The identity of this party remains undisclosed, and it’s unclear whether those discussions are ongoing. Some sources close to Gupta suggest he may yet secure a further adjournment, buying precious time to finalize his rescue plan.
For now, the steel communities of Sheffield, Rotherham, and Bolton wait anxiously. The outcome of this week’s court hearing could shape not only the future of Liberty Steel’s workforce, but also the broader health and resilience of Britain’s steel industry—a sector that has long been buffeted by global competition, volatile markets, and shifting government priorities. One thing is certain: the coming days will be decisive for Sanjeev Gupta, his employees, and the UK’s industrial future.
