A UAE-based steel company has made an approach to buy Britain’s third-biggest steel producer, months after it was declared “hopelessly insolvent” and fell into the hands of the Official Receiver.
Sky News has learnt that Arabian Gulf Steel Industries (AGSI), which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, is among a small number of parties which have lodged proposals to take control of the Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) business which until last summer was owned by the metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel empire.
The business collapsed into compulsory liquidation in August, sparking a scramble in Whitehall to find a buyer for it as part of efforts to preserve the UK’s steelmaking capabilities.
The SSUK business operates sites at Rotherham and Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire, and across its operations employed close to 1,500 people when it collapsed last summer.
This weekend, it was unclear how advanced any discussions were between AGSI and the Official Receiver, while the terms of any proposal were also unclear.
One source suggested that AGSI might be keen to secure financial backing from Britain’s National Wealth Fund to support a takeover of SSUK and fund a resumption of steelmaking at its sites in Yorkshire.
AGSI describes itself on its website as “the epitome of Net Zero steel”, and has pledged to produce 5 million tons of steel by 2030, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 95% compared to traditional steelmaking processes.
The company is privately owned and run by its founder and chief executive, Asam Hussain.
AGSI did not respond to an emailed request for comment, but one source expressed scepticism that it would ultimately acquire the Liberty Speciality Steels business.
A number of other parties have also expressed interest in buying the operations in recent months.
Mr Gupta himself had secured backing from third parties including Blackrock, the world’s biggest asset manager, although the prospect of him being chosen to repurchase the business appears to be extremely remote.
An Insolvency Service spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the Official Receiver continues to progress bids for the sale of Speciality Steel UK.
“The sales process is ongoing, with the aim to complete a sale at the earliest opportunity.”
In response to an enquiry from Sky News, a government spokesperson said: “We remain committed to a bright and sustainable future for steelmaking and steelmaking jobs in the UK.
“The independent Official Receiver is carrying out his duties as liquidator, while we also make sure staff and local communities are supported.”
The National Wealth Fund failed to respond to an enquiry from Sky News.
The sale process for SSUK comes during a period of broader uncertainty for the British steel sector, against the backdrop of President Trump’s tariffs regime and a continued global glut of the metal.
In November, Sky News revealed that ministers were drafting in bankers at Evercore to conduct a review of options for the industry.
Peter Kyle, the business secretary, and UK Government Investments (UKGI), the Whitehall agency which manages taxpayers’ interests in a range of companies, including the Post Office and Channel 4, are expected to consider whether to merge some of the remaining companies in the sector.
These would include British Steel, the Scunthorpe-based producer which is legally owned by China’s JIngye Group but which was seized by the government last April amid a threat to close its remaining blast furnaces.
So far, the government has spent hundreds of millions of pounds on running British Steel.
The government’s move prevented the immediate loss of more than 3,000 jobs, although there remain questions about the company’s viability as a standalone entity.
“We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of British Steel,” Chris McDonald, the industry minister, said in a statement to parliament in November.
“Our long-term aspiration for the company will require co-investment with the private sector to enable modernisation and decarbonisation, safeguard taxpayers’ money and retain steelmaking in Scunthorpe.”
In 2024, ministers agreed to provide £500m in grant funding to Tata Steel, the Indian company, to install an electric arc furnace at its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales.
The new facility is expected to be operational in 2027, but has been bitterly opposed by trade unions infuriated that the new funding was effectively used to drive through thousands of redundancies at the plant.
