Chemical Firms Controlled by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Obtained Up to £70m in UK Government Support In the Past Four Years

Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Latest Disclosures and Financial Support

According to official data released recently, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining 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.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This intervention comes after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 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, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring 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 had to commit significant funds 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 breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on 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 strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing 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 import tax.

Future Environmental Pledges

The Ineos representative 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 protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult 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 higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He noted the site, which uses an processing unit running on North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from surging 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—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.