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Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Recent Disclosures and Financial Support

Based on government disclosures published this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has obtained between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to grant 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 critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This support arrives following Ineos closed the neighbouring 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.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

The majority of the previous state aid came in the form of tax relief in return for “commitments to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

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

While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against 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 alarming rate.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Future Environmental Pledges

The Ineos representative further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to keep it as one of the most efficient chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce 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 chemicals unit, said the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.