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Prior to the recent £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to official data 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 between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This support arrives following Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Company Statements

The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “commitments to curb consumption 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 representative said the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs 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 disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered 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 safeguard skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising 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 in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.