🔗 Share this article

Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, industrial firms under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Revelations and Bailout Package

Based on official data released recently, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing 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 Broader Context

This support arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “commitments to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled 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 not covered from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Future Environmental Pledges

The Ineos representative added: “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 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, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on 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 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.