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Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.

Recent Revelations and Financial Support

According to government disclosures released recently, state aid to the Ineos group in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This support arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, in part due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Official Responses

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

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

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

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. 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 “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

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. The UK chemicals sector 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 brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” from surging 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, 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.