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Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Recent Revelations and Bailout Package

Based on government disclosures released recently, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Official Responses

The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by 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 punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

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. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

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 productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal 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 chemicals unit, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.

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

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