🔗 Share this article

Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Revelations and Bailout Package

Based on government disclosures released recently, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This support comes after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 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, reportedly requested government help in October. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease 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 the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Company Statements

Most the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”

Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “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 unsustainable pace.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Future Environmental Pledges

The Ineos spokesperson 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.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and imported 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 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.