Industrial Firms Owned by Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in UK State Aid In the Last Four-Year Period
Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Recent Revelations and Bailout Package
Based on official data released this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received between £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.
Plant Closure and Wider Challenges
This support comes after Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 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, is understood to have requested government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of increasing concern over its financial health, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
Most the previous state aid came in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.
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 publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”
In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
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 productive 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. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”
Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit 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.
Records show that Ineos has in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.