HMRC drops Liberty Steel action

HM Revenue and Customs has withdrawn its petition to wind up Liberty Steel after parent company GFG Alliance revealed how further funds have been injected.

Last month we reported there was no current threat to the Lochaber smelter’s operations despite moves by UK tax authorities. The smelter, on the outskirts of Fort William, is part of GFG’s Alvance British Aluminium set-up.

Significant progress with creditors has now been flagged up by the steel giant, which has interests across the UK and worldwide. The group put in £50 million of shareholder funding to restart the operations at Liberty Steel UK in October and a further ‘significant injection’ of capital has let the company continue to work. Jeffrey Kabel, chief transformation officer, said: ‘We’re pleased to report good further progress in our negotiations with creditors including UK’s HMRC – we are committed to repaying all creditors and this is an important step in enabling us to restructure and achieve long-term refinancing.’