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Before this week's £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Revelations and Financial Support

Based on government disclosures released this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained a total of £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 cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support comes after Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government help in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “commitments to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes 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 “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a 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 brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations 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, cut 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 significant 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 leave the EU.