British Steel Overcomes Adversity to Land Major Turkish Deal — But Structural Reform Still Needed

Few companies in recent British industrial history have faced the adversity that British Steel has navigated in recent years — collapse, receivership, foreign ownership, and government takeover. Against that backdrop, landing an eight-figure contract to supply 36,000 tonnes of rail for Turkey’s new Ankara–İzmir high-speed railway is a remarkable achievement. But industry figures say structural reform is still urgently needed.
The deal with ERG International Group, supported by UK Export Finance, has created 23 new jobs at Scunthorpe and restarted 24-hour production for the first time in over a decade. The Ankara–İzmir railway — 599km of high-speed track connecting Turkey’s capital with the Aegean coast — is one of the country’s flagship infrastructure projects, and British Steel’s involvement in it is a source of genuine pride.
UK Steel has praised the contract but was clear-eyed about its limitations. “Contracts alone cannot address the structural pressures facing the sector,” the director general said, calling for government action on energy costs and import safeguards. The plant faces persistent competitive disadvantages that individual commercial wins cannot overcome by themselves.
British Steel’s adversity has been real and well-documented. Sold to private equity in 2016, it collapsed in 2019. Chinese firm Jingye Group took it over in 2020 but attempted to close it when losses hit £700,000 a day. Under government control, those losses have widened to £1.2 million daily, with total costs now at £359 million.
Overcoming adversity is something British Steel has done before. The question is whether it can do it again — and this time, on a sustainable basis. The Turkish deal is evidence that the capability is there. What is needed now is the structural reform to match it.