Chemical Companies Controlled by Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in UK Government Support Over the Past Four Years

Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.

Recent Revelations and Bailout Package

Based on official data released recently, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This intervention comes following Ineos shut down the adjacent 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.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Future Sustainability Claims

The Ineos representative further stated: “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 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 Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce 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 “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained substantial tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.