By Barnaby "Bottom-Line" Coyne
Sir Jim Ratcliffe built Ineos into one of the world's biggest chemical companies. Now he says the country that helped make him a billionaire is losing its way.
In an interview with the BBC, Ratcliffe said he has lost confidence in the United Kingdom, describing it as "on the slide." He called for greater investment in the North Sea, the offshore oil and gas fields that have powered British energy production for half a century but have seen falling investment amid the shift toward renewables and tighter regulation.
Ratcliffe, who bought a controlling stake in Manchester United in 2023, has been a vocal critic of UK energy and industrial policy before. Ineos has warned in the past that high energy costs are squeezing British manufacturing and pushing production overseas.
The BBC's report doesn't spell out specific investment figures, job numbers, or a direct government response to Ratcliffe's remarks, and this piece won't pretend otherwise — those specifics are worth chasing down before anyone draws firm conclusions about what his comments will actually move.
What's clear is the signal a comment like this sends. When a manufacturing billionaire who employs thousands of Britons says the country is sliding, investors and workers alike take notice. Ratcliffe himself has pointed to the windfall tax on oil and gas profits, paired with the pace of the net-zero transition, as a reason capital is leaving. It's worth noting: Ratcliffe's own business interests stand to benefit from a lighter windfall tax, a point readers should weigh alongside his remarks.
Somebody's paying for this. Let's find out who.
— Compiled from reporting by the BBC.
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