Chemical Companies Owned by Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK State Aid Over the Past Four Years
Before this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.
Recent Revelations and Bailout Package
According to official data released this week, public funding 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 Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.
Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context
This intervention comes following Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in September 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, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting growing unease over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”
Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Future Sustainability Claims
The Ineos spokesperson 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 very difficult 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 more polluting operations abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.
He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and imported 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 significant 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.