British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta is refusing to hand over control of the port at Whyalla’s steelworks, forcing the plant’s administrators to warn the dispute could derail the sale of the struggling plant.

KordaMentha were appointed to run the operations – which Gupta had run since he acquired the collapsed ASX-listed Arrium steel business in 2017 – two months ago, after the South Australian government seized control of the plant amid growing concerns it was not financially viable.