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Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Recent Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to official data published this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, concerned that without it the UK would lose its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support arrives 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, is understood to have requested government help in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting 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 significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

An Ineos representative 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 publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Future 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 productive chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, 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 plant performance.

He noted 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.

It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received substantial tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.