Chemical Firms Owned by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Received As Much As £70m in British State Aid Over the Past Four Years
Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.
Latest Revelations and Bailout Package
Based on government disclosures published recently, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.
Plant Closure and Broader Context
This intervention 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.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, 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 exchange 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 spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”
Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution 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 pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon import tax.
Future Environmental Pledges
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. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit running on North Sea gas and imported 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 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 leave the EU.
