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Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, 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.

Recent Revelations and Financial Support

According to government disclosures published this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This intervention comes after Ineos closed the adjacent 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.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

The majority of the previous state aid came in the form of tax breaks 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 are reported as ranges 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 open 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 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 continue to decline. 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 “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Future Sustainability Claims

The Ineos spokesperson 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 critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from surging 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—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.