🔗 Share this article

Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies 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 Disclosures and Financial Support

Based on official data released this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This support arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback 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. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease 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 off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

Most the previous state aid came in the form of tax breaks in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”

Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put 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.

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 efficient 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. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, 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, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and US-sourced 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, worth hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.