Chemical Firms Owned by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in UK State Aid Over the Last Four-Year Period
Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.
Latest Revelations and Bailout Package
According to official data published this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company 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, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.
Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges
This intervention arrives after Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a challenge for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.
An Ineos representative 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 meets the requirements.”
Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon import tax.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
The Ineos representative further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to maintain its status as one of the most efficient chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials 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 new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit 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.
It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received substantial 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 leave the EU.
