Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.
Recent Revelations and Bailout Package
According to official data published this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would lose its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.
Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context
This support comes after Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a political problem for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.
Form of Support and Company Statements
The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
The Ineos representative further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to maintain its status as one of the most productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He noted the site, which uses an processing unit running on North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.
It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received substantial tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.
