🔗 Share this article

Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to government disclosures published recently, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has received between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This support comes following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. The request 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 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”

Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “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 alarming rate.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

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 efficient chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. British industry 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 brought in from overseas, 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, cut carbon emissions, and boost overall 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 rocketing 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.