Chemical Companies Controlled by Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK Government Support Over the Last Four-Year Period

Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Latest 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. From August 2022 onwards, the company has obtained between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This intervention arrives following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when 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 lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

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 qualifies.”

While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, 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 not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

The Ineos spokesperson 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 brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, 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 enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an processing unit running on North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

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