Industrial Firms Owned by Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in British Government Support Over the Past Four Years
Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire 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 released this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has obtained between £28m and £70m.
The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would lose 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 after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a political problem for the government.
The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government assistance in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, 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, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.
An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “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 separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. 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 “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered 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 maintain its status as one of the most productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”
Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He explained the site, which uses an processing unit utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from surging 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—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.
