🔗 Share this article

Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Recent Revelations and Bailout Package

Based on government disclosures published this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, concerned that without it the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This support comes following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

The majority of the earlier government support came in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “commitments to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

The Ineos representative added: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to maintain its status as one of the most efficient chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and imported 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 in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.