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Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

Based on official data released this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This support comes after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government help in October. The request comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its financial health, the credit rating agency downgraded 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 minority stake.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “commitments to curb consumption and CO2 output.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against 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 falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Future Sustainability Claims

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. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade plant 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 rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show 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.