UK Gov't Ready to Fund Port Talbot Steelworks Amid Tata Steel Exit

The UK government is prepared to provide funding for the remaining UK assets of Tata Steel, which include the troubled Port Talbot Steelworks plant threatened by closure, Business Secretary Sajid Javid said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Tata Steel had agreed to a management buyout for its site in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, completing a deal backed by the Greybull Capital investment firm early on Monday. The firm pledged some 400 million pounds ($570 million) for a turnaround of the company, saving thousands of jobs and the British steel name.

"Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction for the long-term future of British steel manufacturing in Scunthorpe <…> This point wouldn’t have been reached without the efforts of all those involved especially the high skilled workforce and local management. We will now look through the detail and stand ready to provide funding on a commercial basis if required," Javid told the House of Commons just hours after the deal was closed.

In late March, UK Prime Minister David Cameron ruled out nationalization as a way of preventing the closure of Tata's Port Talbot Steelworks site, which had been put on sale the day before. Opinion polls later revealed that the majority of the UK public supports nationalizing the South Wales plant, which employs some 4,000 people directly and provides around 15,000 jobs in the wider industry.

The United Kingdom's steel industry has faced significant hardship over the past year amid declining commodity prices and growing competition. In October, Thailand's Sahaviriya Steel Industries announced the closure of its plant in northern United Kingdom's town of Redcar. In the same month, the UK-based Caparo Industries, which operates several sites across the country, went into administration.