Industrial Firms Controlled by Tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received As Much As £70m in British Government Support In the Past Four Years
Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Recent Disclosures and Financial Support
Based on government disclosures published this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has obtained between £28m and £70m.
Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.
Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context
This support arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 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.
Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government help in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of increasing concern 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 off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Form of Support and Official Responses
The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative said the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”
While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist 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 punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax 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 spokesperson 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 higher-carbon production abroad.”
Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing 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—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.