British Steel in talks with pension fund

The investment division of Turkey’s armed forces pension fund is the preferred bidder for British Steel, the Government’s Insolvency Service has revealed.

Investment vehicle Ataer Holding will now be given several weeks to allow its advisers to comb through British Steel’s business before any deal is made official.

The Official Receiver has entered exclusive talks with Oyak, which controls Ataer, after several approaches for the business.

He said: “Following discussions with a number of potential purchasers for the British Steel group over the past few weeks, I am pleased to say I have now received an acceptable offer from Ataer Holdings AS for the purchase of the whole business and I am now focusing on finalising the sale.

“I will be looking to conclude this process in the coming weeks, during which time British Steel continues to trade and supply its customers as normal. I would like to thank all employees, suppliers and customers for their continued support which has been essential to get to this point.”

The news is expected to be welcomed by British Steel’s 5,000 staff, including 4,000 at its plant in Scunthorpe, and a further 700 on Teesside in north-east England.

Harish Patel, national officer for steel at the Unite union, said: “The overwhelming feeling of the 5,000 workers at British Steel is one of relief.”

But GMB national officer Ross Murdoch warned that its members were still “staring redundancy in the face” due to the continuing uncertainty.

“This dedicated and loyal workforce must not be an afterthought amidst all of the speculation,” he said.

The company is also indirectly responsible for 20,000 workers in the supply chain and produces around 2.5 million tonnes of steel a year.

British Steel has 5,000 staff.