Industrial Companies Controlled by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in British State Aid In the Past Four Years
Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.
Latest Disclosures and Financial Support
Based on official data released this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context
This support comes after 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, is understood to have asked for government assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, 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 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
The majority of the previous state aid came in the form of tax relief 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 are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”
Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned 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 society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the Grangemouth money 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 “extreme pressure” from rocketing 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—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.
