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Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Recent Disclosures and Financial Support

According to government disclosures published this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This support comes following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, 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 the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

An Ineos representative said the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. 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 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 protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture 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, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received substantial tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.