Re: British Steel? Timing?

Ok please give your interpretation of their accounts.

Re: British Steel? Timing?

The root cause for the collapse of the British steel industry can be summed up in one word.

Unions.

Mrs Thatcher and the Thatcher led government came into office too late. She pulled Britain back from the very brink of disaster but too late to save so many industries.

Re: British Steel? Timing?

Nothing to do with performance that came to light as a result of trading and operating becoming clear and everything to do with business strategy.

Re: British Steel? Timing?

I mentioned poor strategy in my other post. Poor financial decisions are part of that.

Re: British Steel? Timing?

Not poor strategy, deliberate strategy.

ETA - There are many ways to make money from owning a business.

Annie, I suspect that you might be too honest. I on the other hand am not.

Re: British Steel? Timing?

Perhaps the plant and equipment doesn't exist? We will hopefully find out if something like that happened. The accounts usually tell the whole truth once you delve into them. I'm sure auditors will be all over them, but I don't think it's worth the state trying to do a bail out because it's been in trouble for years.

But the main point is that releasing this information now wasn't a cynical ploy. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in their boardroom the last few weeks.

Re: British Steel? Timing?

I'm sorry Annie, you sound so plausible in your aurgument!
But when someone pays £1 for a company worth millions
then to me, something STINKS! I have no doubt you will
find a way to justify this using accountancy reasons and
strategies for such actions!
Also, when the company or person who paid the £1 gets a
£150 M cash injection from government then two weeks
later ccloses said company and then buys iinto a failing
French steel mill in partnership with the French gov!
Thus sustaining the french mill by effectively shutting down
the british one? Using uk taxpayers money to do this?
I think your nose is stuck to high in the air if you cant smell
anything?

Regards Donkeyman!

Re: British Steel? Timing?

There seem to be quite a few opinions expressed that BS
should not be assisted financially, l would like to ask them
a question! What about the assistance that was given to the
banking industry a few years ago, and which we are just
finishing paying for? The amounts involved with the banks was
far in excess of the amounts in BS case!
I also think that there is probably a strategic aspect to the
BS case

Regards Donkeyman!

Re: British Steel? Timing?

I'm not 100% certain but thought I'd read that the funding to prop up banks was a loan and that the majority had been paid back?

Re: British Steel? Timing?

I don't know the full history of this business but when you pay £1 its to create a legal contract during a transfer of ownership. You must have financial consideration. It's not the only such deal in recent years and it's often been done between private companies where a business is failing.

I think people are reading too much into it. The global situation is such that our steel industry will never be viable in such a climate.