🔗 Share this article Chemical Companies Owned by Tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK Government Support In the Last Four-Year Period Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in British government support over the past four years. Recent Disclosures and Financial Support According to government disclosures published this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m. The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital. Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context This support comes after Ineos shut down the adjacent 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, reportedly requested government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In a sign of growing unease over its financial health, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership. Nature of Aid and Company Statements The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements 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 exact amounts. An Ineos representative stated the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.” While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users. “The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong 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 “the most idiotic tax 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 maintain its status as one of the most efficient chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, 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, 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 “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 prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.