The company has entered a five-week exclusivity period with the receiver overseeing the official liquidation process of the facilities.
The assets in question are held within Speciality Steel UK, which operates the UK’s largest active electric arc furnace in Rotherham and downstream production facilities in Stocksbridge. If completed, the deal is expected to bring an end to one of the UK’s long-running industrial insolvency processes.
The company was previously placed under official receiver management after the Liberty Steel group, owned by businessman Sanjeev Gupta, was taken under state control due to financial difficulties. It is noted that the process began in August last year, and the company was declared “hopelessly insolvent.”
Blastr Green Steel, backed by Vanir Green Industries, is developing projects aimed at low-carbon steel production using green hydrogen. However, the company does not yet operate a steel plant, and its planned technology has not been proven at commercial scale.
The electric arc furnace in Rotherham is considered strategically important for the UK’s low-carbon steel production vision. The facility is known to produce specialty steel for the aerospace, defense, and energy sectors.
The government has stated that the sale should be completed “as soon as possible,” while the five-week exclusivity period is seen as a sign of significant progress in negotiations.
Trade unions, meanwhile, stress that any potential deal must ensure the long-term stability of the facilities, noting that workers are the group most affected by years of uncertainty.
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