British Steel secures £90m in fresh debt funding from US investor White Oak Global Advisors | City A.M.

Providing hope to an industry rattled by heavy tariffs imposed on US imports and Brexit trade deal uncertainty, Scunthorpe-based British Steel has landed £90m in debt funding from US investor White Oak Global Advisors.

The new financing, first reported by Sky News last night, will be announced alongside the company’s hotly anticipated full year results and an ambitious future investment plan.

Forged out of assets bought by private investment firm Greybull Capital from Indian-owned Tata Steel in 2016, British Steel achieved profitability within its first year of operation and is expected to do the same again, despite its troubled environment.

The news comes off the back of Tata’s tie-up of its European business with German manufacturer Thyssenkrupp, the merging of which will create Europe’s second largest steelmaker after Arcelor Mittal.

Read more: Steel deal: Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp merger gets the green light

Most of the fresh funding is expected to be invested into modernising equipment at British Steel’s plants in the UK, the Netherlands and France.

President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports last month, prompting a response from Prime Minister Theresa May which labelled the news “deeply disappointing”.

Read more: May to Trump: Steel tariffs ‘deeply disappointing’