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Prior to the recent £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Recent Revelations and Financial Support

Based on government disclosures published this week, public funding 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.

The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This intervention comes after Ineos closed the adjacent 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 challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, 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 downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “special treatment” 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 also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution 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 driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Future Sustainability Claims

The Ineos representative added: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to maintain its status as one of the most efficient chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce 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 improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on 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 prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.