Chemical Companies Owned by Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in British Government Support In the Past Four Years
Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.
Recent Disclosures and Financial Support
According to government disclosures published recently, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has received between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.
Plant Closure and Wider Challenges
This support arrives after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a political problem for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. The request comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting growing unease over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “commitments to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.
An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” 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 announcement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, specifically 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 burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon import tax.
Future Environmental Pledges
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 productive chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit running on North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.
Records show 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 exit the European Union.
