Reynolds set for recent talks on British Metal rescue deal

The enterprise secretary will this week maintain a recent spherical of talks with British Metal’s Chinese language proprietor amid protracted talks a few state bailout of the Scunthorpe-based firm.

Sky Information has learnt that Jonathan Reynolds will focus on the way forward for the commercial group with Jingye Group’s boss, Li Huiming, within the newest chapter of a negotiation which has been dragging on for greater than two years.

Jingye, which purchased British Metal in 2020, is searching for tons of of hundreds of thousands of kilos from the federal government to impress steelmaking at its Scunthorpe plant, the place 1000’s of individuals are employed.

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Over the weekend, Mr Reynolds signed off on a session on plans to assist the metal trade, together with state monetary assist price as much as £2.5bn.

The proposals embody tackling excessive electrical energy prices and bettering the UK’s scrap steel processing capabilities.

“The UK metal trade has a long-term future underneath this authorities,” Mr Reynolds insisted on Sunday.

It comes amid the uncertainty for producers posed by the US President Donald Trump’s broad imposition of tariffs on abroad metal firms.

Whitehall sources mentioned that no formal choices have been anticipated to be reached throughout Tuesday’s talks between Mr Reynolds and Mr Li.

A spokesperson for the Division for Enterprise and Commerce declined to remark.