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Before this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Recent Revelations and Financial Support

Based on official data published recently, public funding to the Ineos group in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support 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 challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government assistance in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by 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.

Reflecting increasing concern 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 efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

The majority of the previous state aid came in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson said 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.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending 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 Environmental Pledges

The Ineos representative 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 everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated 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 running on 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, worth hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.