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Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Revelations and Bailout Package

Based on government disclosures released recently, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown 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.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, in part due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its financial health, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not constitute “special treatment” 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 official statement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong 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.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Future Sustainability Claims

The Ineos spokesperson 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 protect skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade plant performance.

He explained the site, which uses an processing unit 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 significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.