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Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to official data published recently, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £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 support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This intervention comes following Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government help in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the previous state aid came in the form of tax breaks in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” 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 official statement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong 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 described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and 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 efficient chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, 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 enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising 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 in the past obtained substantial tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.