Lawyer for the creditors, Ryan Perkins, argued UK steel-making would be better served if the company’s assets were sold off with assistance from independent special managers acting on behalf of the government after it is wound up, rather than allowing administrators appointed by Mr Gupta to conduct the process.
In a separate court hearing on Wednesday, Mr Perkins presented a letter from the Department for Business and Trade showing approaches made by third parties.
The court heard they had “expressed an interest in returning some or all of the sites to steel-making”, which was the “government’s desire”.
The letter added “an orderly compulsory liquidation may be one way of ensuring steel production restarts”.
Liberty Steel Group’s finances were upended when its main lender, Greensill Capital, collapsed owing billions to investors including UBS and Citibank. Those investors are part of the creditor group that applied for the winding up petition.
Mr Gupta’s plan to place SSUK in administration then immediately buy it out again would have allowed the company to largely shed those debts.