Chemical Companies Owned by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK State Aid Over the Last Four-Year Period
Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.
Recent Disclosures and Financial Support
According to official data published this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical 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 intervention arrives after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 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 assistance in October. The request coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting increasing concern 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 efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Nature of Aid and Company Statements
Most the previous state aid came in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”
While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax 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 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 maintain its status as one of the most productive chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult 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 more polluting operations abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said 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 US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” 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—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.
