Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Recent Revelations and Bailout Package
Based on official data published this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.
Refinery Shutdown 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 area and a political problem for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government assistance 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 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 minority stake.
Form of Support and Company Statements
The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative stated the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”
Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges 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 disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Future Sustainability Claims
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 protect skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies 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 Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He noted 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, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.
