GFG insists it is investing in Highlands

Owners of the UK’s last aluminium smelter have insisted investment plans for the Lochaber plant are on track as alarm was raised over its failure to file accounts for the Highlands business.

GFG Alliance, which acquired the 90-year-old smelter and its hydropower plant from mining giant Rio Tinto in a £330 million deal in 2016, faces having to pay fines as it finalises accounts for Alvance British Aluminium – formerly Liberty Aluminium Lochaber – and its power plant, Simec Lochaber Hydropower.

Companies House records show Alvance is nearly 11 months late in filing its accounts for the year to March 2020 and more than six months late filing for various business entities associated with the hydropower business.

It is a legal obligation for companies to maintain their paperwork in a timely manner, although fines are just £1,500 for each firm.

However Liberal Democrat economy spokesman Willie Rennie said the inability to complete the accounts could be a “warning sign”.

He said: “We must all hope that this failure is not a sign that the smelter and the jobs are at risk but the warning signs have been clear for some time.”

The international conglomerate controlled by tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has faced a series of crises after the collapse last year of its lender Greensill Capital, which had lent GFG – Gupta Family Group – companies as much as £3.5 billion.

The collapse prompted the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate “suspected fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering” at GFG, raising concerns for the future of its 35,000-strong worldwide workforce, including 3,000 in the UK.

The company has insisted it is working on deals to find new finance as it fends off creditors.

Most recently GFG has faced a winding up order from HMRC against four of its steel businesses in England over a £26.3m debt.

Mr Gupta and his group have previously come under fire for “opaque” and poorly audited business structures.

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee published a damning report into the governance of the group.

It cast doubt on whether the Anglo-Indian businessman was a “fit and proper person” to receive government support.

Although GFG did not provide details of more recent trading, the company spokesman said the smelter enjoyed “strong earnings performance last year” on the back of a robust global price for aluminium, which in turn “provides a good platform” for GFG’s plans to develop a recycling and billet casting plant in Fort William.

He added: “We are pressing on with front end design and engineering work.”

UNDER FIRE: Sanjeev Gupta controls the conglomerate that own the Lochaber plant.