Chemical Companies Owned by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Received As Much As £70m in British Government Support In the Last Four-Year Period
Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.
Recent Revelations 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. Since August 2022, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, concerned that without it the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Plant Closure and Broader Context
This support arrives following Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a political problem for the government.
The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of growing unease over its financial health, 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 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 breaks in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.
An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive 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 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 very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.
He noted the site, which uses an processing unit utilising North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” from rocketing 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 leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.
