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Before this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Latest Disclosures and Financial Support

According to government disclosures released recently, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 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 assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Company Statements

The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not constitute “special treatment” 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 more critical comments. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. 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,” arguing they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that 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 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 everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.

He noted the site, which uses an processing unit 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 in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.