Jim Ratcliffe, the most opportunistic chemical magnate

In just over 20 years, he turned Ineos into a giant with revenues of 45 billion, buying assets and subsidiaries that rivals such as BP and ICI considered expendable. In 2024, he became a shareholder of Manchester United.

“It’s the biggest company in the world you’ve never heard of”he likes to say Jim Ratcliffe of Ineosa company present in the daily lives of millions of people. Its products are used for purify water, make toothpaste, produce antibiotics and make the plastic for Lego toys.

This Briton, born in the Manchester metropolitan area, founded the group in 1998 after developing his professional career in the chemical and financial sectors. To the surprise of the rest of the industry, It only took 20 years to turn it into a giant that currently has a turnover of 45,000 million euros and has 24,500 people on staff.

The key to his rapid rise was the purchase of assets that were no longer strategic for BP and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI)among other companies. He and his partners, Andy Currie and John Reece, did appreciate the potential of these, mostly industrial plants and chemical divisions. After acquiring them, they reduced costs, improved facility management and increased production to increase profitability.

As a result of this modus operandi, Ratcliffe’s critics have described him as an “asset stripper.” He, logically, has another point of view. “We analyzed all the opportunities that arose; we were opportunists,” he says.

Football and factories

The current industrial magnate never stood out for his academic qualifications. What’s more, he entered the University of Birmingham to study Chemical Engineering with one of the worst grades and, since the faculty hung the list in the classroom, he felt embarrassed.

Years later, he acknowledged that he had not earned merit to be better positioned in the ranking, since He spent much of his free time playing soccer. In fact, during his teenage years he got a job on Saturdays selling Hull City lottery tickets.

But this lack of interest in studying contrasted with his curiosity about the business world, to the point that at the age of 18 he already had a doubt about being a millionaire.

A Ratcliffe He was especially fascinated by factories.which led him to organize visits to chemical plants and other manufacturing facilities in his last year of high school. It was no surprise that, after finishing the race, he passed through BP, Beecham Pharmaceuticals, Esso, Courtaulds and the background Advent International before founding Ineos.

His career in the sector, however, encountered an unexpected obstacle as soon as it began, since BP fired him just three days after hiring him for having mild eczema which, according to the company, could be aggravated by exposure to chemicals in the plant where he was going to work.

Another moment that marked his career was his signing for Advent, as it saved him from being stuck in an intermediate management position. Not only did it launch his career, it also taught him a valuable lesson about the venture capital industry. “If you do bad business, you get fired. If you don’t do any business, you get fired.””.

Millionaire investments

Once consolidated as a large company, Ratcliffe has commanded million-dollar investments from Ineos in sports. It injects 50 million euros a year into the Mercedes F1 teamfinanced british cycling team -previously known as Team Sky- and allocated 130 million to a project to compete in the America’s Cup, after meeting Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie.

The brand has also supported the athlete Eliud Kipchoge in his attempt to go under two hours in a marathon and at All Blacksthe New Zealand rugby team.

But, on a personal note, the most important operation for Ratcliffe took place in February 2024, when bought 27.7% of Manchester United for 1,420 million. He has assured that it is the club of his childhood, although in 2022 he tried to take over the entirety of Chelsea, one of his great rivals.

United is going through one of the biggest sporting crises in its history, having not won the Premier League since 2013, but, as happened with the assets he bought decades ago, Ratcliffe sees enormous potential in this club.