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Prior to the recent £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Recent Disclosures 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 a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, concerned that without it the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This support comes after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its financial health, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Official Responses

The majority of the previous state aid came in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes paid by 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 pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Investment and 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 brutal 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 more polluting operations abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He noted the site, which uses an processing unit running on North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show that Ineos has in the past obtained substantial 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 leave the EU.