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

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to official data published this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has received between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support arrives following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested 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, in part due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the previous state aid came in the form of tax relief in return for “commitments to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on 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,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges 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,” arguing 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 Environmental Pledges

The Ineos spokesperson added: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to keep it as one of the most productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies 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 enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

He explained 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 previously received significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.