MORE than 200 jobs in the region have been saved after a winding up petition against a steel company was withdrawn.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has withdrawn a winding up petition against Liberty Steel.

The petition, which was launched in February, had put thousands of jobs at risk.

In the North East, the group operates Liberty Powder Metals, based at the Materials Processing Institute in Middlesbrough and a pipe manufacturing plant at Hartlepool, which was at risk of closing. 

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The company said it has had “positive discussions” with HMRC and is committed to repaying creditors.

It added further funding had been injected into Liberty Steel UK to secure continued operations. 

However, union representatives for GMB have warned members are "not out of the woods”.

Welcoming the news, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “I’m pleased that Liberty Steel has been able to reach an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs that will see the threatened closure of the Hartlepool Pipe Mill lifted and over 200 jobs saved.

“I know the last few weeks will have been very worrying and stressful for everyone who works at the firm’s Hartlepool facility, so I’m sure this news will be a huge relief to the company’s dedicated workers and their families.

“Liberty’s Hartlepool pipe mills are the biggest in the UK making them a hugely important strategic asset.

“Since the winding-up petition was issued in February, I’ve been speaking with Government to ensure every option is explored in order to protect the skilled well-paid jobs the plant provides for local workers.”

Liberty Steel Group’s restructuring and transformation committee (RTC) issued a report today (Monday) on continuing developments.

Jeffrey Kabel, chief transformation officer, said: “We’re pleased to report good further progress in our negotiations with creditors including UK’s HMRC.

“We are committed to repaying all creditors and this is an important step in enabling us to restructure and achieve long-term refinancing.

“Our core international businesses have continued to generate strong returns and achieve record production levels despite the sky-high energy costs facing energy-intensive industries across the UK and Europe.

“We will continue to progress our efforts to refocus and refinance our operations for the long-term.”

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Charlotte Childs, national officer for GMB Union, said:  “Retracting these winding up orders will be a massive comfort to our members at liberty Steel. 

“Thousands of jobs will be saved in the short term, but we are far from out of the woods. 

“It is right that shareholder investment has been committed to secure the future of jobs and plants at Liberty Steel. 

“GMB will now be seeking to continue constructive dialogue with GFG Alliance to ensure the impact of the financial restructuring and transformation package is felt in the right places.” 

An HMRC spokesperson said:“We have a strong track record of taking a supportive approach when it comes to viable businesses.

“We don’t comment on identifiable taxpayers.”

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