Grenfell cladding firm Arconic paid shareholders £23m more in compensation than to fire victims

Report’s author said findings highlighted ‘near-total failure’ to hold corporations accountable over the disaster that killed 72 people

The company behind Grenfell Tower’s flammable cladding gave more compensation to its shareholders than to victims of the disaster, an investigation has found.

Arconic, which made and sold the cladding panels found to be the “primary cause” of the rapid spread of the Grenfell fire, paid $74m (£54.7m)) to its shareholders for economic loss they incurred after the blaze.

In contrast, the company paid $43m (£31.8m) to the estates of the fire’s victims and survivors after a lengthy legal battle. Across both payouts, all but $2m was covered by Arconic’s insurers.

The findings are part of a new report by thinktank Common Wealth and financial investigations group FIND, which calls for stronger corporate accountability laws in England and Wales to ensure future misconduct does not go “unpunished and undeterred”.

“Arconic successfully avoided consequential accountability for its role in the fire through a series of ordinary business practices,” the report said.

Grenfell United, which represents the bereaved and survivors of the fire, said the investigation showed how “corporate structures and legal systems have allowed those responsible to move on while our community continues to live with the consequences”.

“Grenfell was not just a tragedy – it was a preventable disaster. We hope these findings help drive the legal and political changes needed to ensure no company can evade responsibility in this way again,” they said.

A total of 72 people, including 18 children, died as a result of the fire in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in June 2017.

Arconic sold Reynobond PE, the flammable aluminium composite material (ACM) used to clad the tower. The inquiry into the blaze found the company “deliberately and dishonestly concealed from the market” the true danger of the product in the form in which it was used on Grenfell.

Arconic has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing , and a criminal investigation by the Metropolitan police has yet to bring charges against any individuals or companies in relation to the fire.

The report revealed how the Reynobond PE used on the tower made up less than 1% of annual Reynobond sales at the time, and said therewas no evidence Arconic has tried to trace the rest of the product it has sold.

It had been selling Reynobond globally for at least 20 years before the Grenfell fire, and previously said it sold 12.75m square metres of it in total.

The report urged Arconic to publicly reveal where the rest of the material had been sold, and said it should be debarred from public contracts in England until it does so.