Industrial Firms Controlled by Tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK State Aid Over the Past Four Years
Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Recent Disclosures and Financial Support
Based on official data released this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.
Plant Closure and Wider Challenges
This intervention comes after Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a challenge for the government.
The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's credit 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.
Nature of Aid and Company Statements
Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.
An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” 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 official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.
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 efficient chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal 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 more polluting operations abroad.”
Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and boost 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.
It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received substantial tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.
