Public inquiry will probe Greybull’s role in collapse of British Steel
MPs will quiz one of British Steel’s former owners on the firm’s collapse later this month, after they launched an inquiry into the troubled industry this weekend.
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee will examine the role private equity firm Greybull Capital had in the industrial giant’s demise. The announcement comes less than a month after British Steel went insolvent, throwing its 5,000 workers’ jobs into doubt.
Greybull managing partner Marc Meyohas will appear before MPs in late June. British Steel’s insolvency followed a breakdown in rescue talks between the government and the private equity firm.
Rachel Reeves, who chairs the Business Committee, said: “It is vital that the government and Official Receiver do all they can to secure a viable future for British Steel.
“However, as a select committee we want to examine questions around the collapse of British Steel and the government’s approach, as well as about Greybull Capital’s stewardship and its commitments to investing in its future.
Greybull bought the business from Tata for £1 during the 2016 steel crisis. Whitehall had already handed British Steel £120m to help it pay an EU carbon emissions bill.
“More broadly, we want to examine the serious challenges facing the future of the steel sector in the UK.”
Separately, Greybull is reportedly considering buying another troubled steelworks in Poland, according to people briefed on the matter. The firm has been in talks over a potential acquisition of the ISD Huta Czestochowa mill, sources told the Financial Times.