Steel crisis deepens as axe hangs over Caparo

The news will come as another hammer blow to the steel industry
The news will come as another hammer blow to the steel industry
INA FASSBENDER/REUTERS

The crisis in the British steel industry intensified yesterday when one of Britain’s largest privately owned companies slumped into administration, putting 1,700 jobs at risk.

Caparo, an umbrella of 20 separate businesses mostly in the Black Country but also in Wales and the northeast, founded and led by Lord Paul, the prominent Labour donor, is at the heart of the supply chain for carmakers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and BMW and also the aero engine maker Rolls-Royce.

The news will come as another hammer blow to an industry already reeling from the news that 1,200 workers at Tata Steel employed at Scunthorpe and in plants south of Glasgow are expected to have their redundancy notices confirmed today. Britain’s biggest company in the sector