Industrial Firms Controlled by Tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK State Aid Over the Last Four-Year Period
Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Latest 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 company has received between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges
This support arrives following 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. This appeal coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting increasing concern over its financial health, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt 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.
Form of Support and Official Responses
Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “commitments to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are pushing 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. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon import tax.
Future Sustainability Claims
The Ineos spokesperson added: “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 very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.
He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” from surging 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, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.
