Chemical Companies Controlled by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in British State Aid Over the Past Four Years

Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Recent Revelations and Bailout Package

According to government disclosures published recently, public funding to the Ineos group in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has obtained between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support arrives following Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 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 assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency downgraded 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 the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”

Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

The Ineos spokesperson added: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to keep it as one of the most productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an processing unit utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” from surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show that Ineos has in the past obtained substantial tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.