Chemical Firms Owned by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in British State Aid Over the Last Four-Year Period
Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support over the past four years.
Latest Revelations and Bailout Package
According to government disclosures published this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.
Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context
This support comes after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a challenge for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government help in October. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale 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 had to commit substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.
Form of Support and Official Responses
Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.
An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against 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 more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy 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 planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
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 productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.
It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained substantial 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 exit the European Union.