Chemical Companies Controlled by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in British Government Support Over the Last Four-Year Period
Before this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Recent Disclosures and Financial Support
According to government disclosures published this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has received between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical 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 support arrives following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community 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, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting growing unease over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.
Form of Support and Official Responses
The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.
An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Future Environmental Pledges
The Ineos representative 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. British industry has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture 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, cut carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit utilising North Sea gas and US-sourced 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—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.
