Network Rail is poised to reignite a rescue bid for part of British Steel after takeover talks with a Turkish pension fund broke down.
The track operator is preparing to step in following the failure of exclusive negotiations between Ataer Holdings and the Government, with officials now forced to open the auction up again to other bidders.
Network Rail, the state-backed owner of the country’s tracks, points and stations, will hold fresh talks with Whitehall over a bid for British Steel’s rail service centre business.
Charlotte Childs, a GMB union organiser who has worked at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant for 11 years, tells Wake Up to Money: “There has been a sense of optimism around the plant for a while now with the Turkish military pension fund coming in. It helped people reaffirm what we knew in terms of it being a viable business moving forward.
“The company makes really good steel so it would be crazy for the UK to lose that manufacturing capability.
“Obviously this new news plunges them into a certain level of uncertainty but we know that there are other bidders that might come into play if this deal doesn’t get done.”
