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Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Latest Revelations and Financial Support

According to government disclosures published this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support arrives after Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings 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 Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

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

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered 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 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 imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut 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 substantial 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.