Chemical Companies Controlled by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Received As Much As £70m in British State Aid Over the Past Four Years
Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.
Recent Disclosures and Bailout Package
Based on official data released recently, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.
Plant Closure and Wider Challenges
This intervention arrives after Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a political problem for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
The majority of the earlier government support came in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.
An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed 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. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges 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,” 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 initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Future Sustainability Claims
The Ineos representative further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to maintain its status as one of the most productive chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”
Colin Pritchard, 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 plant performance.
He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing 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.
