The UK’s tax authority HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has filed winding up petitions for UK-based global industrial leader GFG Alliance’s several steel businesses in the UK, including Liberty Performance Steels Ltd. and Speciality Steel UK, amid unpaid taxes.
Saying that they are in continuous dialogue with its creditors including HMRC to find a solution that is in the best interest of all stakeholders, GFG stated that this kind of action undermines creditor recovery at a critical stage in the company’s debt restructuring.
The company has been trying to find financing following the collapse of its main lender UK-based Greensill Capital last year. In addition, according to an agreement between GFG and Switzerland-based Credit Suisse, GFG will pay its debt to Credit Suisse and Greensill Capital in installments by June 2023, as SteelOrbis previously reported.
Meanwhile, the shutdown of the businesses would put thousands of jobs at risk. “This action by HMRC threatens thousands of jobs. Liberty Steel is a strategically important business, crucial to delivering net zero, and under no circumstances can our plants be allowed to close. The trade unions call on GFG and HMRC to get back round the table and hammer out a deal that provides space for the company to refinance. The best route to protect jobs and repay HMRC and other creditors would be to enable the business to continue to trade,” a spokesperson for the steel unions, Community, Unite and GMB, said.