Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd. (SFIL) lost a $119 million loan previously secured from the U.K. government. The money would have helped finance a new 15,000-metric-ton press to make ultra-large nuclear components. The funding agreement would have allowed SFIL to capitalize on growing international demand for safety-critical forgings and would have also created hundreds of jobs. The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government installed in early May, however, instituted a round of government spending cuts.

According to SFIL, “Our board of directors will continue to engage constructively with strategic corporate investors as well as private finance providers to explore other funding options for the press project.” SFIL is the only U.K. company with ASME certification to manufacture civil nuclear castings and forgings. The demand for heavy nuclear forgings is set to more than triple by 2020.