GFG heads to court to overturn administration

GFG Alliance (GFG) has revealed its business plan for Aartee Bright Bar, ahead of its court hearing to overturn its administration.

GFG will present its case to the High Court in Manchester as it attempts to save steel supplier Aartee Bright Bar and 250 UK steel jobs.

The firm says that its legal representatives will argue that by allowing GFG to acquire Aartee, it will provide a “far superior outcome for creditors, employees and all other stakeholders compared with a damaging insolvency process”.

It claims that Willenhall-based Aartee was “wrongly” put into administration by its main creditor FGI, who appointed Alvarez & Marsal to handle the insolvency process.

Aartee will also benefit from financial support from GFG to cover working capital needs following on from the £200m of support provided to its UK businesses in the past 18 months.

GFG’s legal team also says that Aartee is a solvent compamy, with enough cash and facilities to satisfy existing creditors. The administration process will inevitably lead to plant closure and redundancies, but GFG’s plan will ensure no redundancies and integrate the business with LIBERTY Steel’s Engineering Bar division.

GFG has provided £620,000 to fund wages and avoid instant redundancies since it revealed its acquisition proposal.

Jeffrey Kabel, Chief Transformation Officer, said: “Our plan for ABB would see jobs protected and provide superior outcomes for its creditors immediately.

“The administration process at ABB is unjustified, unnecessary and unsupported by a majority of its creditors and employees whose jobs are on the line. We urge creditors, employees and stakeholders to get behind our application to save ABB.”