The government has concerns about the "very opaque" structure of the owner of Liberty Steel, according to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
On Sunday, the government rejected a request for £170m in financial support for the firm.
Mr Kwarteng said the government could not put money into a "black box" not knowing how it would be used.
But it is considering "all options" to keep Liberty Steel's UK plants and jobs afloat, including nationalisation.
Mr Kwarteng told the BBC's Today programme that Liberty Steel was "an important national asset" but that the structure of its owner - Gupta Family Group (GFG) - was "very opaque" and "not helpful".
"We are custodians of taxpayer's money... and we feel that if we gave the (£170m) money, there was no guarantee that the money would stay in the UK, and would protect British jobs," he said.
Liberty Steel's founder, Sanjeev Gupta, is trying to refinance GFG after its key financial backer Greensill Capital filed for insolvency earlier this month.
Mr Kwarteng said he wanted to see Mr Gupta's plans "work through" before the government took any further action.
There are 5,000 staff employed at Liberty's 12 UK sites, which include Rotherham, Motherwell and Newport. Mr Gupta's empire employs 35,000 people worldwide.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiLGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2J1c2luZXNzLTU2NTc1Mjk30gEwaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYW1wL2J1c2luZXNzLTU2NTc1Mjk3?oc=5
2021-03-30 08:51:56Z
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