The UK government has moved to take control of Liberty Steel’s South Yorkshire operations after a London court ordered the winding up of Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), placing 1,450 jobs under state protection. This development delivers a major setback for Indian-British tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, whose Gupta Family Group (GFG) Alliance has struggled to secure financing since the collapse of Greensill Capital, which had previously provided about $4.5 billion in loans. The High Court dismissed Liberty Steel’s request for more time to secure funding, with Justice Mellor expressing serious doubts about Gupta’s ability to deliver and emphasizing that winding-up was the most appropriate course of action. The plants in Rotherham and Stocksbridge will now be managed by the government’s official receiver, with advisory firm Teneo appointed as special managers.
UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the steelworks and their workforce as "strategic assets" to Britain. The Department for Business and Trade informed the court that independent investors had already shown interest in restarting steelmaking at the sites, where production in Rotherham has been suspended for over a year. This marks the second major government intervention in the steel sector in 2025, following the takeover of British Steel’s Scunthorpe site earlier this year to prevent its Chinese owners from idling blast furnaces.
Sanjeev Gupta, once celebrated as the "saviour of steel" for acquiring and reviving struggling operations, saw his business empire expand from his early ventures as a Cambridge student to global holdings across the UK, Eastern Europe, and Australia. However, the collapse of Greensill Capital in 2021 triggered a reversal of fortunes, with administrators working on behalf of creditors such as Citibank—owed £233 million—seeking to recover outstanding funds. Since then, GFG Alliance has been under investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office over allegations of fraud, fraudulent trading, and money laundering, though both Gupta and his company deny any wrongdoing. Operating now from the United Arab Emirates, Gupta has already lost control of businesses in Europe, Singapore, and Australia, leaving SSUK as his most significant remaining steel asset in Britain.
