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

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

Based on government disclosures released this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

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, reportedly requested government help in October. This appeal coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, in part due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “commitments to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

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

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Future 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 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. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, 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 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 “intense strain” from surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.