Who Owns Scunthorpe Steel?

The Scunthorpe area's steelmaking history dates to the 1860s, when ironstone deposits in the Lincolnshire Wolds provided the raw material for iron production. The Frodingham Iron Company was established in 1864, and the area developed into one of England's major steelmaking centers over the following decades, with multiple companies operating blast furnaces and steelworks in and around Scunthorpe.

The various Scunthorpe steelmakers were consolidated into the United Steel Companies in the early 20th century. Following the nationalization of the UK steel industry in 1967, Scunthorpe became part of the British Steel Corporation. When the British steel industry was privatized in 1988, Scunthorpe became part of British Steel plc.

British Steel plc merged with Hoogovens of the Netherlands in 1999 to form Corus Group. In 2007, Tata Steel of India acquired Corus Group for approximately £6.7 billion, making Scunthorpe part of Tata Steel Europe's long products division. Under Tata Steel ownership, Scunthorpe continued to produce rails, structural sections, and wire rod for UK and European markets.

In 2016, Tata Steel Europe sold its long products division, including Scunthorpe, to Greybull Capital, a British private equity firm, for a nominal sum of £1. The new company was named British Steel Limited, reviving the historic British Steel brand. The Scunthorpe Steel brand was established as part of British Steel Limited's product portfolio.

British Steel Limited entered insolvency in May 2019, with the UK government's Official Receiver taking temporary control. The insolvency was attributed to high energy costs, Brexit uncertainty, and the loss of a European Commission export license. In 2020, Jingye Group acquired British Steel Limited from the Official Receiver for approximately £50 million.

In early 2025, the UK government intervened in British Steel's Scunthorpe operations following concerns about Jingye's financial position and its ability to fund the transition of the Scunthorpe blast furnaces to electric arc furnace steelmaking. The government assumed operational management of the Scunthorpe blast furnaces under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. The Scunthorpe site's strategic importance as the UK's last primary steelmaking facility, capable of producing steel from raw materials for the rail industry and other critical infrastructure applications, was central to the government's decision to intervene.