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

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

Based on official data released this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has obtained between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, concerned that without it the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This intervention comes after Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for 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 sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered 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 the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

The majority of the earlier government support came in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”

Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing 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 disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.

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 efficient 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 brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.

He explained 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 previously received substantial tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.