Liberty Steel restructures UK business after deal with creditors

Liberty Steel has announced a strategic plan for its steel assets in the UK after signing a new framework agreement with its major creditors. The company said in a statement.

The signing of the agreement became possible after the company made significant progress in raising new capital. This includes a $350 million bond issue by InfraBuild’s Australian subsidiary through Jefferies and a $350 million asset-backed term loan through BlackRock and Silver Point Finance.

Following the final settlement, Liberty plans to consolidate its UK steel business under a new legal entity and corporate structure. The existing companies are expected to transfer their assets and employees to the new entity. Employees will continue to work on the existing terms and conditions while maintaining continuity of employment. Liberty Steel also noted that this will not have any impact on operations, suppliers or customers.

As part of the new plan, Liberty plans to increase the electric arc furnace smelting capacity at its Rotherham facility to 2 million tons per year.

The operational restructuring plan implemented in the UK last year focused the company’s businesses on specialty steel products serving strategic supply chains in the aerospace, defense and energy sectors. According to Geoffrey Cable, Liberty’s Chief Transformation Officer, this has helped stabilize operations and significantly improve business performance.

«The restructuring agreement paves the way for a new company structure that will enable us to significantly increase our production of low-carbon steel in Rotherham, which will be supplied to our network of steelworks across the country,» he explained.

Liberty’s chief transformation officer also noted that with its strengths in stable steel and aluminum production in the country, as well as magnetite resources in Australia to support DRI production, the company is ready to play a role in the UK’s Net Zero strategy.

In January 2024, Liberty Steel UK announced that it would focus on the production of high-margin products. Several plants producing unprofitable products were to be shut down due to lack of competitiveness. In addition, production in Rotherham was cut due to high electricity prices.