JUNE 2019 COMMENT
A (Grey)bull
in a china shop
CHRIS BECK, EDITOR chris.beck@markallengroup.com
The collapse of British Steel (see p22) is a sucker-punch, not just for
the workers, their families and the town of Scunthorpe, but for the
whole of the industry. Something must have gone seriously wrong
for the UK’s second-biggest steel producer to go bust almost overnight.
Now that the dust has started to settle, fi ngers of blame are being
pointed. The government has to take some of the fl ak, after its lastminute
million-pound rescue deal amounted to nothing. The main culprit,
however, must be British Steel’s shadowy owner, Greybull Capital. On top
of this latest debacle, Greybull has also overseen the decline of – amongst
others – electrical retailer Comet, Monarch airlines, Morrison’s ‘My Local’
brand of convenience stores and Riley’s snooker halls. At what point is its
suitability to take over companies going to be questioned?
The UK has long been rightly proud of its steel industry – in spite of
decades of decline, it was still a byword for quality and reliability that is
unrivalled around the world. Now, thanks to a litany of errors, the industry
potentially fi nds itself in terminal decline.
One answer to the malaise, which ties in with the wider sustainability
theme of this month’s issue, may be for the UK to become the global
leader in steel recycling – at least according to a new report by the
University of Cambridge. It estimates that, within 30 years, the need
to produce new steel could be reduced to zero if manufacturers were
to recycle the steel that is currently in circulation. Doing so would save
massive amounts of carbon and create a more sustainable future for
the industry. That may be good for the planet, but will surely be of little
comfort to the thousands currently faced with losing their jobs. C.Beck
Editor Chris Beck
chris.beck@markallengroup.com
Assistant Editor Amy Best
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Art Editor Neil Young
Production Manager Heather Woodley
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Publisher Luke Webster
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