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

Latest Revelations and Bailout Package

Based on government disclosures published this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This support comes after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, costing 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 asked for government help in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of 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.

In a sign of growing unease over its financial health, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

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

Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

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

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

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 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 critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade overall 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 in the past obtained substantial tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.