Newly published accounts show British Steel owed about £960m to former owner Jingye at the end of 2024, exposing a large liability for taxpayers after the company was nationalised. The documents warn an additional £275m–£330m will be needed over the next 12 months, on top of roughly £555m already provided by the Treasury. The company made £829m of sales in 2024 but lost £254m, with production down nearly 25% amid major operational failures. An independent valuation due in the autumn will determine whether Jingye is owed compensation.
Accounts Reveal British Steel Owed Nearly £1bn To Former Chinese Owner When Nationalised
British Steel reported sales of £829m in 2024, but made a loss of £254m - Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA
Newly published accounts show that British Steel owed about £960m to its former Chinese parent, Jingye, at the end of 2024 — a liability that now concerns taxpayers after the company was brought into public ownership. The documents also warn that keeping the business operating will require further substantial funding and that the firm's physical assets were judged to have little or no recoverable value in an audit review.
Liabilities and Immediate Funding Needs
The accounts disclose at least £960m of intercompany loans owing to Jingye. Jingye has indicated it will seek that sum as compensation and has already begun proceedings under an existing UK-China investment treaty.
The same documents, signed off by Jingye days before ministers took formal control, estimate an additional cash requirement of £275m–£330m over the next 12 months just to maintain operations. The Treasury has already provided roughly £555m of working capital.
Operational and Financial Problems
British Steel — which employs about 2,700 people — reported sales of £829m for 2024 but posted a loss of £254m. That equates to a pre-tax loss of around £201 per tonne of liquid steel.
Liquid steel output fell nearly 25% to roughly 1.3 million tonnes after the company experienced “severe and persistent operational problems” during 2024. These included extended periods when only one furnace was available and several so-called chill events in which blast furnaces failed to sustain the heat needed for production, producing steel of insufficient quality on a number of occasions.
Assets, Industry Reaction and Political Context
An audit appended to the accounts judged much of British Steel’s property, plant and equipment to be of little or no value. One industry source described the business as a "money pit", warning that continuing to run the blast furnaces would likely generate further heavy losses.
“The longer they keep the blast furnaces open, the longer they are going to lose money hand over fist,” an industry source said. “Closure is politically unpalatable, but funding an unprofitable operation is also contentious.”
Ministers first seized operational control in April 2025 amid concerns Jingye might move to close the blast furnaces permanently — a claim Jingye denies. Parliament later passed legislation allowing formal nationalisation in the public interest; that law took effect in July.
Next Steps: Valuation And Compensation
The bill requires the Government to consider what compensation, if any, is payable to Jingye. That process will be overseen by an independent valuer and is due to begin in the autumn; it could conclude that no payment is required.
Beijing expressed that it was "strongly dissatisfied" after the nationalisation. A government spokesman said ministers had concluded public ownership was necessary to protect national security, critical infrastructure and jobs, and that the focus now is on stabilising the business and building a sustainable, decarbonised steel sector.
Key Figures
- Intercompany debt to Jingye: ~£960m
- Treasury working capital already provided: ~£555m
- Additional funding needed (next 12 months): £275m–£330m
- 2024 sales: £829m; 2024 loss: £254m
- Liquid steel output (2024): ≈1.3 million tonnes (down ~25%)
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