Chinese company seeks compensation for British steel nationalism

The former owner of British Steel has said he will pursue the British government for compensation after the bankrupt firm was nationalised.

The UK took over Scunthorpe Steel’s operations a year ago after China’s Jinji Group said it planned to close the site as it was not financially viable and fully nationalize the plant on Thursday.

In a statement on Sunday, Jinge said he would seek “full compensation to the fullest extent of the law” for the UK’s actions.

A government spokeswoman said the draft compensation rules, to be released in the autumn, would set out a compensation process by which an independent assessor would “determine what, if any, should be paid.”

Genji bought the Lincolnshire steelworks in 2020, but in March last year it consulted on its closure, saying the plant was losing £700,000 a day.

The government took control of British Steel’s operations in April 2025, but until this week it remained under Jinji’s ownership, limiting the government’s ability to shape its future.

On Thursday, the UK government said it was taking the company into public hands “to protect vital national capacity”, giving it the power to decide the future of the plant.

As Andy Burnham prepares to enter Downing Street as Prime Minister on Monday, the decision to nationalize British Steel has raised concerns that relations between London and Beijing will be strained.