Sheffield Forgemasters receive £30m loan from Britain’s industrial giants

After announcing 100 job cuts over a week ago, Sheffield Forgemasters has reportedly been given some much-needed financial support.

As Sky News reported, the firm has received a £30m support package from three of Britain’s industrial giants, BAE Systems, Babcock International and Rolls-Royce Holdings.

It is understood that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) brokered a deal in which the industrial companies agreed to underwrite bank loans to the steelmaker.

Sheffield Forgemasters, which is a supplier to the Trident nuclear submarine programme, was forced to make the redundancies because of the decrease in activity in the oil and gas sector, lower steel prices from international competitors and the increase in UK energy costs.

These factors resulted in the firm reporting its first ever loss since a management buyout in 2005 of £9.4m, for the 18 months to the end of 2014.

A spokesperson for BAE said: “BAE Systems works closely with more than 7,000 organisations in our UK supply chain to develop and manufacture advanced defence and security products for our customers.

“Sheffield Forgemasters International is a supplier to our submarines business. The terms of our contractual relationships with our suppliers are confidential.”

Babcock also released as statement which read: “Babcock works closely with an extensive supply chain across the UK to ensure we deliver best value, continuity and surety for our customers. Sheffield Forgemasters International is a supplier to our business. However, contractual arrangements with our suppliers are confidential.‎”

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