British Steel shakes on £70m rescue deal from Chinese company

Scunthorpe-headquartered British Steel is to reveal a rescue deal with Chinese firm Jingye Group which could save around 4,000 UK jobs.

Jingye Group has agreed to buy the Yorkshire company for £70m, in principle. The government is said to be issuing loan guarantees and other financial support to aid the process.

Since May 2019, British Steel has been run by the government following its liquidation.

Around 4,000 people are employed at its Scunthorpe and Teesside sites, plus a further 20,000 jobs are in the supply chain.

Gareth Stace, director general of industry lobby group UK Steel, told BBC Radio 4’s Today that British Steel being acquired was a “significant asset to our country”.

The firm makes up a third of UK steel production.

Gareth added: “Jingye are looking to make significant investment, are in for the longer term and therefore it isn’t about keeping this site going for a year or two or a couple of years.

“To me, what I understand about the company, it’s about looking to the future, so we’re not going to be back in here in three years, five years, in 10 years time.”

Jingye Group is a specialist in iron and steel, however works across tourism, real estate and hotels. It currently has around 23,500 employees and exports its products to over 80 countries and regions worldwide.