The UK government has nationalised British Steel

The British government has announced that British Steel is to be brought under state ownership. The nationalisation directly affects the steelworks in Scunthorpe, which employs around 2,700 people and on which thousands of jobs in related industries depend. This is according to the BBC.

In April 2025, the government had already taken operational control of British Steel’s plants in Scunthorpe to prevent the shutdown of the last two blast furnaces by their then-owner, the Chinese company Jingye Group. Shutting down the blast furnaces would have meant the UK completely losing its ability to produce primary steel, as restarting them is extremely complex and costly. Primary steel is critical for major infrastructure projects, particularly construction and railways.

The legal framework for nationalisation was provided by the Steel Act, passed by Parliament the day before, which allows companies in the sector to be transferred to state ownership if this is in the public interest to protect critical infrastructure.

China’s Jingye Group acquired British Steel in 2020 — a year after the company was compulsorily wound up by its previous owner, the investment group Greybull Capital. Representatives of Jingye have announced the start of proceedings to claim compensation for the nationalisation, claiming that the business was incurring losses of 700,000 pounds sterling a day. Meanwhile, the British government has indicated that it may limit or even refuse to pay compensation. According to the National Audit Office (NAO), maintaining the Scunthorpe plant cost the public purse around £1.3 million a day.

Peter Kyle, Minister for Business and Trade, emphasised that the company now belongs to the British people, and that the main priorities are to stabilise the business, support local communities and build a competitive and decarbonised steel sector.

As reported by GMK Center, Jingye Steel will demand prompt, adequate and effective compensation from the British government for its investments in British Steel. The British authorities have not yet provided Jingye with any substantive response on this matter.