Liberty Speciality Steel collapses into administration and government receivership with 1,450 jobs at risk

Liberty Speciality Steel collapsed into administration after a winding-up petition in the High Court, placing the company under the management of special officials appointed by the Government's Official Receiver. The South Yorkshire firm employs about 1,450 people and supplies high-grade specialist steels to aerospace, defence, power generation, oil and gas, and rail sectors. Its alloys are used in aircraft carriers, military landing gear, turbines and control systems. The collapse further weakens the UK steel industry amid years of low production that have created domestic supply gaps and increased reliance on imports. Industry and union leaders called for urgent state-backed intervention, investment, trade protection and lower energy costs. Ministers have yet to announce next steps.

Liberty Speciality Steel has collapsed into administration after a winding-up petition in the High Court, placing one of the UK's most strategically important steelmaking businesses under government control. The South Yorkshire-based company, which employs around 1,450 people, will now be managed by special officials appointed by the Government's Official Receiver. Liberty Speciality Steel supplies high-grade steel products to critical sectors including aerospace, defence, power generation, oil and gas, and rail.

Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel, welcomed the government's intervention but urged urgent action to secure the future of the plants. "We hope a new owner is found quickly who can inject the investment and working capital required to return production volumes to previous levels," he said. "These assets produce high-quality, specialist steels for high-value markets. The Government must continue to push on trade defence and reduce energy costs so that the business, and the wider UK steel ecosystem, becomes sustainable."

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, national officer at the GMB union, described the news as "another tragedy for UK steel - and the people of South Yorkshire - this time brought on by years of chronic mismanagement by the owners." However, she added that the government now had a chance to intervene decisively: "This represents an opportunity for the Government to take decisive action, as it did with British Steel, to protect this vital UK industry."

Read at Business Matters