More than £4.2m in unpaid business rates owed by Liberty Steel, Rotherham Council leader confirms
The money will likely never be paid - after the collapse of Speciality Steels
More than £4.2 million in unpaid business rates are owed by Liberty Steel, with millions already written off as irrecoverable, Rotherham Council has confirmed.
In a written response to a question raised at full council, council leader Chris Read outlined the authority’s position following the collapse of Speciality Steel, part of the Liberty Steel group.
The question was submitted by councillor Simon Ball, where he asked how much money was owed in business rates and whether the debt had been written off. He also queried the status of what he described as quarterly meetings between the council and the company.
Councillor Read said there had never been formal quarterly meetings between the council and Liberty Steel, although meetings had taken place at officer level in the past.
“As the business declined and restructuring proposals came forward, these meetings came to a natural end,” he said, adding that further conversations had taken place when the company was willing to share information.
Councillor Read explained that business rates collected are split between the council (49 per cent), South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (1 per cent), and central government (50 per cent), with any losses also shared on the same basis.
He said the total outstanding business rates liability for Speciality Steel up to August 21, 2025, the date a winding-up order was made, stood at £4,233,135.
This total includes: £294,169 for 2023/24, £2,822,826 for 2024/25 and £1,116,139 for 2025/26.
On the advice of external legal advisers, £3.05 million of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 debt was written off as irrecoverable at the end of the 2024/25 financial year. However, Councillor Read said these write-offs could be reversed if there is a possibility of further recovery.
Despite this, the council intends to submit a claim to administrators for the full outstanding balance.
“At this stage it is too early to know whether we will receive a dividend from this claim or whether the full balance will ultimately need to be written off,” he said.
Councillor Read added that from the date the winding-up order was issued, and while the property remains occupied, business rates liability transfers to the liquidator.
He also confirmed that additional business rates demand notices totalling £1.75 million for the period from August 21, 2025 to March 31, 2026 were issued on September 16.
“These are expected to be paid in full,” he said, “though there remains uncertainty over how the liquidators will operate and for how long.”