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Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, industrial firms under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Recent Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to official data published this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £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 prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This intervention comes after Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. The request coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, 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 the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Company Statements

The majority of the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson 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 meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Future Sustainability Claims

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. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost overall 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 rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show that Ineos has in the past obtained substantial tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.