Progress has been made in selling British Steel

British Business Minister Andrea Leedsom has confirmed that good progress has been made in selling British Steel to the proposed new owners of Jingye.

She said, “I wanted to inform the Support Team that yesterday I had a very positive meeting with Jingye CEO Mr. Li Huiming, and I remain confident that they are firmly on track to complete the British Steel acquisition. My officials worked closely with Jingye during the Purda period, and at our meeting, I reiterated my personal commitment to support Jingye and the Official Recipient to complete this transaction as soon as possible. I appreciate that there was some useless speculation with the media last weekend that was completely inaccurate. As unions know, the Official Recipient in his message to all British Steel employees on Monday made it clear that such assumptions are completely untrue. The official recipient also confirmed in press statements over the weekend that no negotiations are under way with other interested parties looking to acquire the business. I would greatly appreciate it if the support team members could seize the opportunity to reassure key parties that the Jingye acquisition is ongoing and encourage them to continue to support the business now. ”

British media also reported that the deal with British Steel and Jingye was backed up by reports that the government is in the process of completing a £ 120m package to help protect jobs in the area. The government is expected to confirm that it will provide funding in the next few weeks. A spokesperson for the Business, Energy and Industry Strategy Department said that we are continuing to work with the official successor and Jingye in the next phase of the sales process. Government schemes, available to all steel producers, will be available to them if they decide to turn to them, but there is currently no government money allocated. ”