Chemical Firms Owned by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Received As Much As £70m in UK State Aid In the Past Four Years
Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Latest Disclosures and Financial Support
Based on government disclosures released this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would lose its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Plant Closure and Wider Challenges
This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the neighbouring 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, reportedly requested government assistance in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, in part due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of increasing concern over its financial health, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project 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 was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments 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 said the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
The Ineos spokesperson added: “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 protect skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector 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.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit running on North Sea gas and imported 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, 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.
