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Before this week's £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Recent Disclosures and Financial Support

Based on official data released this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has obtained between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This intervention comes following Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback 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 comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its financial health, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

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 thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered 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 safeguard skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture 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 chemicals unit, said the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant 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 rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show that Ineos has in the past obtained 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 leave the EU.