Minister reveals 'around £11m-a-month' cost to keep Speciality Steel running hot prior to nationalisation

A minister has revealed is has cost £11m a month to keep the lights on at Speciality Steel’s Stocksbridge and Rotherham sites while looking for a buyer.

Reindustrialisation Minister Blair McDougall toured the Rotherham site on September 15 in the wake of Government plans to nationalise the firm.

But Mr McDougall revealed the eyewatering cost of keeping the sites’ furnaces hot since it fell into insolvency on August 21, 2025.

“A huge amount of the money we have been providing to the official receiver over the last few months has been about keeping the wages paid - that has been the bulk of the support provided,” the minister said.

“We made the decision yesterday to acquire the site, to try and move steelmaking here to a more sustainable basis, and to keep those capabilities so that we had the option of maintaining the site.”

Mr McDougall said it was “too early” to say what will be the cost of modernising the plants.

He added: “But it’s really important to say that had we allowed the site of this scale to fall into dereliction that itself would have carried huge costs for the taxpayer, in terms of remediating the ground and reindustrialising the area - so either way there was a cost for the taxpayer.”

He said he expected it will take two months to negotiate the acquisition and “make a decision about the future of the sites” to get it back in the black.

That extends to whether former bosses or ministers are likely to run firm in the end.

He said: “This is a company with a really strong reputation and also a company which does things which no one else in Britain can do. They have a long history with customers and they have existing customers, we will look to bring that together and build something that feels like a sustainable future for the site.”

Meanwhile, mayor of Stocksbridge Town Council, Richard Crowther, said: "[We] warmly welcome the government’s announcement that it is moving toward the acquisition of Speciality Steel UK in Stocksbridge.

“The steelworks have long been a cornerstone of local life, providing livelihoods, supporting families, and driving our shared sense of pride in our town.

“Steelmaking has been at the heart of Stocksbridge for generations, shaping both our history and our community’s identity, and Stocksbridge Town Council is hopeful that through this nationalisation, the future of speciality steelmaking will be secured.

“We see this as a vital step towards securing not only the future of the site but also the ongoing prosperity of Stocksbridge for decades to come.”

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Since the day the company went into liquidation, I’ve been working with Government at the highest levels along with staff, unions and our local partners to help deliver a sustainable, long-term future for these sites.

“I’m pleased the Government has taken action. It’s the next important step forward, giving us more time to find the best possible outcome for our steel making communities – places where people have faced economic challenges and real barriers to opportunity for far too long.

“I know the workforce, their families and our communities are still feeling some uncertainty about what the future holds. I’m fully committed to working with our local and national partners, to do everything we can to continue our support for people as the process continues.”

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