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Liberty Steel UK plants risk closure on Greensill fallout

Liberty Steel UK plants risk closure on Greensill fallout

LIBERTY STEEL could have to shut down some of its dozen UK plants following the collapse of its main financier Greensill Capital, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on Tuesday (13).

The collapse of the financial firm last month has now put thousands of jobs at risk, including Liberty Steel-owned GFG Alliance of Indian-British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta.


British politics has also been hit by the fallout and on Tuesday (13) prime minister Boris Johnson said a review into how Greensill was able to secure UK government contracts will be given the "maximum possible access".

It comes as pressure mounts on British former prime minister and Greensill adviser David Cameron after the government on Monday (12) announced its inquiry into his lobbying of ministers prior to the company's collapse.

Labour wanted a broader inquiry by a cross-party panel of MPs. But the government has rejected Labour's call for a full parliamentary inquiry into lobbying and the contacts between government and Greensill Capital.

On Tuesday (13), Kwarteng told a cross-party committee of British MPs that some parts of Liberty Steel could be lost after the government refused a bailout, a decision it has justified owing to GFG's "very opaque" structure.

"I am very keen to see that these (Liberty) assets, which are good assets, continue to operate and the company continues to operate but we can't strip Liberty Steel from the wider group under which it sits and, as Mr Gupta says, they have billions and billions of debt," Kwarteng added.

The UK government last month refused GFG a rescue package totalling £170 million.

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  • UK life sciences sector contributed £17.6bn GVA in 2021 and supports 126,000 high-skilled jobs.
  • Inward life sciences FDI fell by 58 per cent from £1,897m in 2021 to £795m in 2023.
  • Experts warn NHS underinvestment and NICE pricing rules are deterring innovation and patient access.

Investment gap

Britain is seeking to attract new pharmaceutical investment as part of its plan to strengthen the life sciences sector, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said during meetings in Washington this week. “We do need to make sure that we are an attractive place for pharmaceuticals, and that includes on pricing, but in return for that, we want to see more investment flow to Britain,” Reeves told reporters.

Recent ABPI report, ‘Creating the conditions for investment and growth’, The UK’s pharmaceutical industry is integral to both the country’s health and growth missions, contributing £17.6 billion in direct gross value added (GVA) annually and supporting 126,000 high-skilled jobs across the nation. It also invests more in research and development (R&D) than any other sector. Yet inward life sciences foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 58per cent, from £1,897 million in 2021 to £795 million in 2023, while pharmaceutical R&D investment in the UK lagged behind global growth trends, costing an estimated £1.3 billion in lost investment in 2023 alone.

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