Tata Steel UK operations could be bought by Port Talbot bosses

Stuart Wilkie, the boss of the Port Talbot steel works, is launching a bid by the plant's managers

Tata Steel employs 15,000 people in the UK at plants in Port Talbot, Rotherham, Corby and Shotton (GETTY)

Stuart Wilkie, the boss of the Port Talbot steel works, is launching a bid by the plant's managers to buy Tata Steel's operations in the UK.

The management buyout - where the managers of a company buy some or all of the company from its owners - has beeen welcomed by the Port Talbot community.

"There will be a lot of happy people in Port Talbot today who hoped this would be on the table," Dr Kath Ringwald, a senior lecturer at the University of South Wales' faculty of business and society, told the BBC.

"I think Stuart Wilkie has the knowledge and experience to lead a bid, but I think any management buyout is fraught with difficulty.

"In these circumstances you have a management buyout in very difficult market circumstances with little change of improvement. So we shouldn't see this as a knight in shining armour. It's a brave attempt - and hopefully successful attempt - to retain steelmaking in the UK," Dr Ringwald said.

Mr Wilkie had previously put together a plan to rescue the Port Talbot plant that was rejected by Indian owners Tata Steel. Tata Steel then put Port Talbot up for sale.

Tata Steel employs 15,000 people in the UK at plants in Port Talbot, Rotherham, Corby and Shotton. The company decided to sell after suffering losses of up to £1 million a day as Chinese steel exports forced down prices in the steel market to unsustainable levels.

A management buyout at Port Talbot would require significant Government assistance of up to £100 million. The Government had resisted calls to nationalise the plant, but last week Sajid Javid, the business secretary, suggested that the Government would look at "co-investing with a buyer on commercial terms".

"Any potential investors are being asked to step up with a lot of money and in very difficult times. Certainly the Government's willingness to act as co-investors in the plan will reassure investors. But it is a big ask," Dr Ringwald said.