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Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Revelations and Financial Support

According to official data published recently, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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

Form of Support and Company Statements

The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “special treatment” 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 separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The answer 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 driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a 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 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 safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade 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 surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show that Ineos has previously received significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.