Its abilities to direct more subsidies towards the group are limited, in part because the spending required would be unpopular ahead of a general election. By early January, Corus' debts stood at 1.7bn. A government bailout seems to be out of the question. But not only because it would be too expensive. In addition, European Union regulation designed to prevent competitive distortion through subsidies, prevents it from offering more than relatively minor concessions in for example local taxes.
Sterling remains strong compared to the euro, though it has weakened slightly in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, production by euro-zone companies is rising because they are able to compete on price due to their exchange rate advantage. So Corus has not been pushing particularly hard for a government bailout. Corus chairman, Sir Brian Moffitt reportedly wrote to the union rejecting its offer to negotiate an acquisition on the grounds that it did not want competition.