Industrial Companies Controlled by Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK Government Support Over the Last Four-Year Period
Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.
Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package
Based on 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 obtained between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.
Plant Closure and Broader Context
This support arrives following Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a political problem for the government.
The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government assistance in October. The request coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of growing unease 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 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 previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open 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 billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”
In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Investment and 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. British industry has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.
Records show that Ineos has previously received substantial tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.
