The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
BiFab levels broadside at ministers
Bo s s e s a t beleaguered Fife firm BiFab have levelled an astonishing broadside at Scottish and UK ministers after they ruled out further financial support to the company.
Ju s t days after the Scottish and UK Governments claimed they had left “no stone unturned” to secure work at the firm’s Methil and Burntisland yards, BiFab has hit out at the handling of the situation after conceding the lucrative Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore contract – and up to 500 jobs – is now all but lost.
Management have revealed parent company JV Driver – which led a rescue package to save BiFab three years ago – warned ministers’ financial backing would be needed more than a year ago and offered to transfer some or all of its shares in BiFab to them at no charge.
However, that offer was not pursued.
Meanwile, unions representing workers said they have “no confidence” in the SNP government.
A statement issued on behalf of BiFab yesterday said the company is “perp lexed and disappointed” by the Scottish and UK government stance, and rubbished Ho l y r o o d ’ s insistence a lack of investment, guarantees and capital from JV Driver is to blame for the current woes.
A spokesperson said: “The final purchase discussions and agreements always envisaged that the Scottish Government would be the primar y financier of the business as it recovered from the Beatrice project and pursued new contracts.
“In fact, Scottish ministers to date have provided less than 50% of the working capital financing requested by JV Driver in its pre-acquisition business plan.
“Scottish ministers also point to the lack of a long term business plan as a secondary causal factor to the current situation. Again, this is inaccurate.
“JV Driver prepared a long- form multi- phase business plan for Scottish ministers prior to acquiring BiFab.”
B i Fa b added it told Scottish ministers, including Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop, in September 2019, following an annual review by JV Driver’s surety, that full cash security would be required on all future bonds for BiFab. What it calls a “race-to-the-bottom” Contract for Difference (CfD) auction process created an “intense pricing pressure” on B i Fa b ’ s pursuits that “no level of domestic investment could overcome”.
“Many nations have local supply chain protections that limit the amount of international sourcing available to major energy infrastructure projects,” it added.
“No such legislation exists in Scotland or the wider UK.
“Therefore thousands of high- paying fabrication jobs are being lost to the Middle East and Asia.
“Only Scottish and UK ministers have the ability to change this policy.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As a minority shareholder, we have been exhaustive in our consideration of the options available to us to financially support BiFab. We have worked collaboratively with the UK Government to explore all options and we have not identified a legally compliant way to support the business.”
T he UK Government refused to comment.