A company part owned by Team Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe is seeking up to £500 million in loan funding amid the financial crisis caused by Covid19.
The development, which has been reported by Sky News, shows that not even the richest teams in pro cycling are completely immune to the economic crisis caused by the virus.
However, considering Ratcliffe’s personal wealth, at about £18 billion, and the fact Team Ineos costs about £40 million per year, it is unlikely the team will be impacted in any significant way in the immediate future.
Energy company Petroineos, which is owned by Ratcliffe’s Ineos
Group and China’s PetroChina, has apparently been in talks to secure British
government loans of hundreds of millions.
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Sky News reports that Petroineos has indicated it would
need up to £500 million, though the sum may be smaller if and when an agreement
can be reached.
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Ratcliffe has an estimated fortune of £18 billion and while he is seeking the money from the Scottish and UK governments he recently relocated to Monaco, for what were reported as tax reasons at the time.
Petroineos processes oil at a facility in Grangemouth
near Falkirk, Scotland, and at another refinery in Lavera, France.
Petroineos produces 19 million tonnes of oil products
each year, making it one of the biggest refiners in Europe.
It was not immediately clear why the loan of up to £500
million was being sought, though the demand for oil and the price of oil have
both plummeted since the Covid19 crisis began.
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