The Charity Commission has closed its regulatory compliance case into a foundation set up by the UK’s second-richest man, saying it is satisfied that the charity’s activities further its purposes.
The regulator opened its case in January into the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation, a sport and conservation charity, after allegations – published in The Guardian newspaper – emerged that the foundation spent millions of pounds on building a skiing clubhouse in France that is only open to paying members.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who established the foundation in 2019 and funds it entirely from his own donations and loans, is the owner of chemicals company Ineos. He is the second-richest man in the UK with assets of about £30m, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List, and a net worth of more than $22bn, according to Forbes.
Between September 2019 and June 2020, his foundation provided grants totalling €12.5m (£10.7m) to the Club Des Sports Courchevel – a French charity that offers children the opportunity to enjoy subsidised Alpine sport activities – toward the construction of a ski clubhouse building. It opened in December 2021.
In a statement today, the regulator said that CDS operates on the same site as an exclusive ski clubhouse that charges high membership fees and that the charity received the income from this membership, which consists of a €25,000 (£21,300) joining fee and €6,000 (£5,100) annual cost.
But it says the CDS itself charges its members a significantly lower amount – the equivalent of £25 a month – which allows members access to the club, with subsidies contributing to the costs of training, clothing, skis, ski passes and competition fees.
“The commission is satisfied that the facilities and ski programme operated by CDS furthers the charity’s purposes with other trading activities undertaken to generate income,” the regulator said.
“The regulator has therefore determined that the decision taken by the charity to provide funding met the public benefit test. Changes have since been made to the website of CDS to make the charitable benefit they provide clearer.”
As part of its investigations, the regulator also examined the trustees’ relationship with Ratcliffe, examining whether funding decisions were influenced by any conflict of interest or loyalty and, if so, whether this was handled appropriately.
It concluded that Ratcliffe did not influence the trustees’ decision on how to apply his donations, but it warned that, as the charity’s three trustees all work for Ineos, “this may cause a perception of bias or lack of independence which is a risk to the charity’s reputation”.
The regulator said it had communicated this concern to the trustees, stating that while no conflict of loyalty had been identified, the public may believe one to exist.
It said the trustees had agreed to take steps to appoint at least one trustee who is not employed by a company connected to Sir Ratcliffe.
Third Sector contacted the foundation for its reaction to the commission’s findings but there was no response before publication of this article.