Industrial Companies Owned by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in UK State Aid In the Last Four-Year Period
Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support over the past four years.
Recent Revelations and Bailout Package
Based on government disclosures published recently, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges
This intervention comes following Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback 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 coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Form of Support and Official Responses
Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” Figures for these relief schemes 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 “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a 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 efficient chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit utilising North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” 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 prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.
