Industrial Companies Controlled by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK Government Support In the Past Four Years
Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.
Recent Disclosures and Financial Support
According to official data published recently, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have 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.
Plant Closure and Broader Context
This support arrives following Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a political problem for the government.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government help 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 soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit 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 minority stake.
Form of Support and Official Responses
Most the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of 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 “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust 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 “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon import tax.
Investment and Sustainability Claims
The Ineos representative added: “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. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies 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.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.
He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising 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 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 exit the European Union.
