Jingye Group to sue UK for full compensation after British Steel nationalisation

The former owner of British Steel has said it will pursue the British government for compensation after the loss‑making firm was nationalised.

The United Kingdom assumed control of the Scunthorpe steelworks a year ago after China’s Jingye Group announced plans to close the site due to unprofitability, and the facility was fully nationalised on Thursday.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Jingye said it will seek “full compensation through legal means to the very end” over the UK’s nationalisation move.

A government spokesperson said draft compensation regulations due to be released in the autumn will set out a process through which an independent assessor “would determine what, if any, is payable”.

Jingye acquired the Lincolnshire steel plant in 2020, but in March of the previous year the firm initiated a closure consultation, stating that the plant was losing £700,000 per day.

The government assumed control of British Steel operations in April 2025, yet until this week the company remained under Jingye’s ownership, which constrained the government’s ability to shape its future.

On Thursday, the UK government announced that it was taking the firm into public ownership to safeguard a “vital national capability”, thereby granting the government authority to determine the plant’s future.

The decision to nationalise British Steel has the potential to strain relations between London and Beijing at a time when Andy Burnham is set to become prime minister and enter Downing Street on Monday.

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