Billionaire Man United owner says he has lost confidence in the UK
By BBC, September 19, 2026One of Britain’s richest people, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, says he has lost confidence in the UK, describing the country as “on the slide”.
The founder of petrochemical giant Ineos, who also owns a large stake in Manchester United, said the UK was in decline due to a combination of high taxes and high immigration.
He told the BBC failing to invest further in North Sea oil and gas amounted to “insanity” and warned gas storage was so low that the UK could “run out of gas” if there was a cold snap this winter.
In response to the billionaire’s criticism, the government said it was working to deliver growth and that business investment had increased in the last two years.
Monaco Supporter
A spokesperson said they did not foresee any problems with gas supply: “We have a diverse energy mix and are confident in our security of supply.”
Sir Jim, whose wealth is estimated to be around £15bn, has prompted controversy in the past with his comments on immigration. He was a supporter of Brexit but has been a tax resident in Monaco since 2020.
The businessman’s UK exit has been followed by other high-profile billionaires, including steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and most recently hedge-fund boss Chris Rokos.
Politics driving people away
Sir Jim said the politics of envy was driving people away from the UK.
Sir Jim backed those calls, saying it was “absurd” to import more energy than necessary.
The government spokesperson said that oil and gas would play an important role in the UK “for decades to come”, but they added: “The transition to homegrown clean power is the only way to deliver energy and financial security for families and businesses.”
Sir Jim warned that low gas storage levels in Europe posed a risk to the UK in the months ahead.
“If we have a really sharp cold spell, then there is conceivably the possibility that we’ll run out of gas and have to switch industry off… our storage is not full,” he said.
The UK does not typically store a great deal of gas, relying instead on LNG (liquefied natural gas) and gas imports from Europe.
Energy specialist consultancy Cornwall Insight said that current gas storage levels in the EU were at about 69%, when typically they would be at 85% at this time of the year.
Uncertainity in UK
However, Adam Bell of consultancy Stonehaven, said supplies were unlikely to run short.
“We are down compared to where we normally would be but not what I’d regard as catastrophic,” he said.
“The physical risk of running out of gas is relatively low, especially if Jackdaw gets the go ahead.”
He said the main source of uncertainty was policy in the US, which supplies LNG to the UK.
Sir Jim was speaking in Denmark at the launch of the EU’s first carbon capture and storage system (CCS). Ineos has invested in the scheme which is being subsidised by the Danish government and the EU.
He said he had hoped to develop CCS in the UK but there had not been enough government support.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the government had committed KSh 3.75 trillion for CCS projects over 25 years, however, no projects are yet operational in the UK.