Billionaire Manchester United bidder's hotel chain netted £3m in public Covid grants - The Mirror

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Lime Wood Group Ltd got huge aid during the Covid pandemic but the businessman is worth £6.075billion, according to 2022 Sunday Times Rich list

A hotel chain run by the tycoon bidding to buy Manchester United netted £3.1million in public grants, despite him being worth billions.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Lime Wood Group Ltd received more than £1.5million during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

The Lime Wood Hotel, in the New Forest, has rooms for £1,400 a night.

Sir Jim’s portfolio also includes the four-star Le Portetta, which boasts “38 luxuriously cosy rooms” in French ski resort Courchevel.

His firm made use of the furlough scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Sir Jim’s wealth was estimated at £6.075billion in the 2022 Sunday Times Rich list. But Forbes yesterday listed his real time net worth as £12.72billion, making him the 112th richest person in the world.

Monaco tax exile Sir Jim, 70 – founder of chemicals giant Ineos – has bid for majority ownership of United, who face Newcastle in today’s Carabao Cup Final.

Latest accounts for Lime Wood detail the dates of hotel closures during Covid. The accounts add: “During these periods of closure… we have made use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

“At the height of the pandemic and our closures we have utilised the CJRS for over 200 members of staff. When we reopened, this reduced to only a handful of employees remaining.

“To support our ongoing fixed costs during closure we obtained an increased overdraft through the CBILS. We did not have to utilise the extended CBILS overdraft in 2021.”

Lime Wood yesterday said it received £2.4million in grants from the CJRS and the rest of the money came from the French government.

A spokesman said the company followed guidelines to close hotels, adding: “Where possible, it tried to retain staff. Those that could work continued to maintain the facilities and gardens, producing food for local people and NHS workers.

“Unlike many hospitality businesses, Lime Wood made no redundancies due to Covid over that two-year period.”