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Written question asked by Lord Myners (Crossbench) on Wednesday, 5 June 2019, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 June 2019. It was answered by Lord Henley (Conservative) on Wednesday, 19 June 2019 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

British Steel: Insolvency

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to take any action to persuade Greybull Capital and its associates to contribute any gains made from its (1) investment in, and (2) loans to, British Steel towards reducing (a) the deficit of the British Steel Pension Scheme, and (b) the impact of British Steel's collapse on past and present employees.

Answer

The Official Receiver was appointed liquidator of British Steel Limited. In his role as liquidator, the Official Receiver is under a statutory duty to investigate the cause of failure of the company and generally its business, dealings and affairs and has wide-ranging powers to obtain information, material, and explanations.

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the Insolvency Service on 22 May requesting that the Official Receiver’s investigation not only looks at the conduct of the directors immediately prior to and at insolvency, but also at the investments made in the company, value transferred out of the company and whether any action by directors has caused detriment to creditors or to the pension schemes.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL16112
Session
2017-19
Subjects
British Steel Finance Insolvency Pensions Greybull Capital
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk