Jim Ratcliffe’s chemicals empire suffers debt downgrade

Chris Price

Thu, February 19, 2026 at 11:50 PM GMT+9 3 min read

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Ineos’ credit downgrade adds to mounting problems for Sir Jim Ratcliffe - Belga News Agency / Alamy Stock Photo

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s debt-laden petrochemicals empire has been put under deepening strain after a downgrade of its credit rating.

The billionaire’s Ineos conglomerate will have to pay higher borrowing costs on its junk-rated debt after it was given a negative outlook by S&P Global, one of the world’s three major credit rating agencies.

S&P handed out B+ and B ratings for two arms of Sir Jim’s sprawling empire, meaning they are viewed as “more vulnerable to adverse business, financial and economic conditions”. S&P had previously given both the divisions BB- ratings.

The ratings agency forecast a drop in Ineos’s earnings, warning of even lower credit ratings to come if the company is unable to get the ratio of its £18bn debt pile below six and a half times the level of its underlying profits.

S&P said Ineos was facing turmoil from “challenging trading conditions” around the world for the petrochemical sector, which is vital for oil and gas production.

“The petrochemical industry is currently grappling with significant overcapacity, primarily driven by aggressive capacity expansions in China outpacing weak global demand,” the rating agency told investors.

The downgrade adds to the mounting problems for the Manchester United co-owner, who has faced criticism this month for his comments on immigration.

Sir Jim, a resident of Monaco and worth an estimated £17bn, said he was sorry for offending “some people” after he said Britain was being “colonised by immigrants”. He had faced pressure to apologise from the Prime Minister and the world of football.

In his chemicals business, the billionaire has blamed mounting losses at his Grangemouth chemical works on government carbon taxes and Britain’s sky-high energy costs.

Accounts published in December for Ineos’s Scottish plant showed it made a pre-tax loss of £431m in 2024, following a £600m loss the year before. It took losses in the last two years to more than £1bn.

Taxpayers have been forced to pump £120m into Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Grangemouth chemical plant - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe

Around £5bn of Ineos’s debt burden was trading at, or close to, distressed levels on Thursday.

S&P reduced its forecasts for underlying profits at two subsidiaries of Ineos, adding that it expected any improvements to be driven by savings and lower costs from restructuring the business.

Around £2.5bn of loans issued by Ineos’s US finance vehicle were trading around 82 cents on the dollar on Thursday, while a further £2bn attached to its Quattro division was slightly above 70 cents – the level at which the market believes there is a considerable risk of a default.

S&P said: “Despite projected improvements in 2026, we believe that leverage will remain high, which we now view as commensurate with the current rating.”

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The update from S&P marks the latest in a series of downgrades by debt ratings agencies that risk compounding Ineos’s financial strain by making it more expensive to borrow.

Moody’s has lowered its rating on Ineos twice since September. The most recent downgrade in December followed publication of the company’s financial results.

Moody’s said there had been “continued and greater than expected deterioration” in Ineos’s operating performance. Revenues declined 20pc and pre-tax earnings plunged 55pc.

Ineos was contacted for comment.

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