A decision to allow a major Chinese company to buy a bankrupt chemical plant in Teesside has been condemned by an alliance of European and US producers that warn they are facing an existential threat from Chinese industrial subsidies.
The factory owned by Venator Materials UK went into administration last October with the loss of 270 jobs after more than 50 years making titanium dioxide. The industrial whitening agent is used in paints and plastics as well as strategic defence and green energy supply chains.
On Thursday, UK competition authorities cleared the way for a $70mn acquisition by China’s LB Group, formerly Lomon Billions Group, the world’s largest producer of titanium dioxide, following a three-month enquiry.
The deal highlights the growing dilemma facing western governments in accepting Chinese investment to save jobs in the short term at the risk of undermining strategic industries over time.
The European Titanium Dioxide ad hoc Coalition, which represents nearly 90 per cent of EU production, said it was “extremely disappointed” by the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision, warning it could pose a threat to local producers.
“The likely result of LB’s acquisition of Venator’s UK plant will be a significant diminution in competition in both the UK and the EU as LB Group seeks to render UK and EU producers unable to invest in their businesses and remain viable,” they said.
LB Group has promised it will restart production at the plant in Teesside, an area in the North East of England, potentially saving hundreds of jobs.
Fazia Hussain-Brown, the local Unite union rep, welcomed the decision to clear the purchase of a plant that was a major employer in the region.
“We are looking to establish a good working relationship between the union and LB Group going forward,” she said, “in order to ensure the future viability of the site and ensure there are well-paid unionised jobs available.”
However, industry insiders warned that LB Group’s access to industrial subsidies in China opened the door to it undercutting rival plants, including the UK’s only other titanium dioxide facility in Stallingborough, Grimsby, 100 miles down the UK’s east coast.
The plant’s US owner, Tronox, announced in January it was closing its own Chinese production facilities, citing “continued excess production and unsustainable pricing” from its Chinese competitors.
Three industry insiders told the FT they feared that LB Group would be able to cross-subsidise its new UK operation, selling into the European market at well below the actual cost of production in the UK.
LB Group did not respond to a request for comment.
One of the insiders estimated LB Group produced titanium dioxide at $1,500 a tonne in China, including subsidies, nearly half the estimated $2,800 a tonne cost to produce in the UK.
Melanie Onn, MP for Great Grimsby, said ministers needed to consider how the UK government should protect a capability that is also part of the supply chain for titanium metal, a key component in the defence industry.
“The danger is China driving down prices makes it unsustainable to produce this product in the UK,” she said. “These are important skilled jobs. Our local schools are encouraging children to go into Stem subjects but they need to have jobs to go to.”
China became a net exporter of titanium dioxide after 2010, with exports rising from just 48,000 tonnes that year to more than 1.7mn tonnes in 2025, creating a global glut of excess production that coincided with a wave of factory closures outside China.
Over that 15-year period, factories with a combined capacity of nearly 1.3mn tonnes were shut down in Asia, Europe and the US, according to data compiled by industry analyst Reg Adams, who has tracked titanium dioxide markets since 1993.
“Chinese capacity hit 5.7mn tonnes at the end 2025. The market is growing but not close to absorbing the excess which has weakened producers outside China, hence the bankruptcy at Venator,” he said.
In January 2025, Brussels announced it was imposing significant levies on Chinese titanium dioxide imports in a bid to level the playing field.
The UK has yet to follow suit, but last month the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority — the body that advised the government on the need for protective duties — announced it had begun an anti-dumping duties investigation into titanium dioxide.
The coalition has said the EU’s anti-dumping duties paved the way for non-Chinese companies to purchase two other Venator facilities — one in Huelva, Spain, and the other in Scarlino, Italy.
LB Group has been explicit about using its overseas investments as hubs to skirt duties, noting in its most recent half-year results that a number of trade blocs had launched anti-dumping investigations or imposed restrictions on Chinese titanium dioxide.
“By establishing new factories overseas, the company can directly connect with end-markets for production and sales, radiate out to surrounding markets . . . and circumvent high anti-dumping duties,” it said.
While industry producers are demanding greater protection from China, downstream users of titanium dioxide, like the paint and printing ink industry, are against anti-dumping duties, arguing they would raise costs.
The British Coatings Federation said its members were still battling the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “The majority of my members do not want anti-dumping duties,” said Tom Bowtell, the BCF’s chief executive.
The Department for Business and Trade and the European Commission declined to comment.
Data visualisation by Janina Conboye and Haohsiang Ko
