How British Steel ended up on the brink

FT Lex writer Alan Livsey on why Britain's second-largest steelmaker has struggled to raise finance and is facing administration after blaming a drop in orders on Brexit among its setbacks and swinging into a small loss in 2017-18

[PJ]

So the government can find £30 million to give to a ferry company with no ferries .... but cant find it to save thousands of jobs ? Sounds about right ...

[johnsmythe]

A pretty good assessment. No one in this World actually accepts responsibility.

[bartekpulkowski]

short quiz: which EU country in 2016 blocked EU resolution on higher tariffs on Chinese steel?

[aon]

You lack cheap energy and iron ore. On the other side, the Chinese take Iron ore from Australia and energy from the middle east and make raw iron, that is transported to Pittsburg over LA. So it's a multilayered problem.

[SKumar-mjgf]

World's two largest steel producers now are China and India.

[MC-mvwr]

Bartek pulkowski Would I be correct to say that it had been David Cameron Government that prevented the EU from significantly raising tariffs.

[OgallalaKnowhow]

The UK government can expropriate all the assets and assist in the formation of an Employee Shareholder Ownership Plan that all employees can choose to join, and which will eventually take majority ownership. An ESOP means that employees own the firm but don't have to pay any capital up front to purchase shares. Instead, the creditor (in this case the existing capital owners forced into the position by government) is paid in future profits. When the creditor is paid in full, then 100% of the profits made get divvied out to employees/shareholders as dividends.

[curtiscarpenter]

Fix it and flip it, the under served market sections scream your name.

[curtiscarpenter]

Steel wont be the new coal, less trade barriers, less tariffs, for the governments role in the affair based on the actions it can take but maybe if there was a UK state owned company or a bigger company that could then take over the business with a government granted monopoly. A solution has to work itself from the inside out to the outside in.

[santiagovalencia]

Scunthorpe voted Brexit. Two thirds of their voters. As it's what they wanted, there is nothing to regret here.

[smiggo]

The EU should have invested in helping the EU steel industry redevelop with greener technology so that they are able to compete on equal footing with countries such as China etc and meet the environmental compliance that they have imposed. Instead what they actually do is say your not very green so we will impose a limit, to appease the electorate, then tax you more for not being compliant. the effect of this is to make you more uncompetitive against countries that have far worse environmental compliance! You couldn't write this it beggars belief IMO.

[markgraham]

Higher import tarriffs and protectionism would have helped..China is just that and they are flourishing

[AlmightyAaron]

That's just a private company, parts of TATA which owned by Indian, don't be fooled by its name.

[colinburnside]

The British Government said it will do everything in it, s power to protect British Steel. Will they put there hands in their pockets to save it. Under EU law it seem, s like a dead duck. Such a pity people Loosing their Jobs etc.

[ottomeyer]

No Steal? the next will be the Rolling mills.

[foppo]

The Tories have no intention of saving this company.It was in the hands of money men who couldn't care less what will happen to thousands of job losses.Other European countries have supported their industries and this has nothing to do with the E.U except the uncertainty of the U.K leaving the E.U without a deal.The Bankers where saved by public money not such luck for the steelworkers.

[anders]

thank you for your videos ft <31.5x is a godsent.

[buddha]

The Conservatives gave this place £300 million only 3 weeks ago. 😉💭corruption.