Chemical Firms Owned by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in UK State Aid Over the Past Four Years
Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.
Recent Revelations and Financial Support
According to official data published this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.
Plant Closure and Broader Context
This intervention comes following Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a challenge for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly requested government help in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to soaring 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 been required to invest significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.
Nature of Aid and Company Statements
The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”
While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “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 “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded 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. 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 Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.
He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising 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 previously received significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.
