Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, industrial firms under the ownership of billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in British government support over the past four years.
Latest Disclosures and Financial Support
According to government disclosures released this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has obtained between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Plant Closure and Broader Context
This intervention arrives following Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a challenge for the government.
The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government assistance in October. This appeal coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, in part due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting 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 substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.
Form of Support and Official Responses
The majority of the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” 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 constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”
Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges 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 put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
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 safeguard skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, 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 processing unit 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 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 exit the European Union.
