Industrial Companies Controlled by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK State Aid Over the Last Four-Year Period
Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms under the ownership of billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Latest Revelations and Bailout Package
According to government disclosures released this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Plant Closure and Broader Context
This support arrives following Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a challenge for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by 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 increasing concern over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.
An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”
While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued 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,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing 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 put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned 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 keep it as one of the most productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. British industry 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 brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.
He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and US-sourced 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 exit the European Union.
