Industrial Firms Controlled by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Received As Much As £70m in UK Government Support In the Last Four-Year Period
Before this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Recent 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. Since August 2022, the company has received between £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would lose its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.
Plant Closure and Broader Context
This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in late 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.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of Manchester United, 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 return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.
An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “special treatment” 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 also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”
In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
The Ineos representative added: “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. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.
He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising 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 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.