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Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures and Financial Support

Based on government disclosures published this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has obtained between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This intervention arrives following 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 political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government assistance in October. This appeal coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, 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, the credit rating agency 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.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates 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.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing 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 put UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

The Ineos spokesperson further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to keep it 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 essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” 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, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.