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Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

Based on government disclosures published this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This intervention comes after 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 political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt 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.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”

Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they put 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 Sustainability Claims

The Ineos representative further stated: “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. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, 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 ethylene cracker 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 substantial tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.