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| Tata Steel: government offers to part-nationalise UK plants | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The government is ready to part-nationalise Tata’s UK steel assets and offer hundreds of millions of pounds in debt relief if a private buyer can be found. | |
| Ministers unveiled their proposals for a package of support after Sajid Javid, the business secretary, said last week that the government was prepared to “co-invest” in British steel. | Ministers unveiled their proposals for a package of support after Sajid Javid, the business secretary, said last week that the government was prepared to “co-invest” in British steel. |
| The plans could involve the government taking a minority equity stake of up to 25% in the steel plants, including Port Talbot in south Wales, amounting to part-nationalisation of the struggling industry. | |
| Related: Government 'willing to take 25% stake in Tata Steel' - Politics live | |
| The offer has been made jointly by the UK and Welsh governments and will be made available on commercial terms to potential buyers of Tata Steel. | |
| The government is offering a sweetener in the hope that a buyer can be found for all of Tata’s remaining steel assets, after the Indian-owned company announced last month that it was pulling out of the UK. | |
| Javid came in for criticism for failing to respond quickly enough to the crisis. He was away on a trade trip to Australia when Tata announced the withdrawal, which puts up to 40,000 jobs at risk. | |
| He initially ruled out nationalisation but the government later backtracked and said all possibilities were still on the table. | |
| Outlining its package, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said its offer would be tailored to the purchaser’s strategy and financing needs. | |
| It is expected that the large majority of the help will be through the provision of debt financing but other options include hybrid convertible debt or a minority equity stake of up to 25%. | |
| The government is also working to “find a solution” to the burden of pension liabilities, which has been putting off potential buyers. | |
| The details of the package emerged after a second meeting between Javid and Cyrus Mistry, the Tata Global chairman in Mumbai. | |
| Javid said: “This government is committed to supporting the steel industry to secure a long-term viable future and we are working closely with Tata Steel UK on its process to find a credible buyer. The detail of our commercial funding offer is clear evidence of the extent of that commitment. | |
| “Ministers have visited Tata Steel sites across the country and the pride and dedication of the highly skilled men and women working there is obvious to see. We have already delivered on energy compensation, on tackling unfair trading practices and on procurement of British steel, and we will keep on going further to support this vital industry.” | |
| Carwyn Jones, the first minister of Wales, said: “We’re committed to supporting any credible bid to secure steel-making in Wales. We have worked with the UK government to put in place this significant package of support and we believe that this will help secure a successful sale of Tata Steel’s operations in Wales and the rest of the UK.” | |
| The European Investment Bank has also said it may consider possible financing for new investment in the UK steel industry on the basis of specific proposals. |