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Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms under the ownership of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures 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. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support comes following Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly requested government help in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its financial health, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of Manchester United, 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 return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for 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 “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on 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 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.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a 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 Environmental Pledges

The Ineos representative further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to keep it as one of the most efficient chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products 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 new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.