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Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Revelations 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. Since August 2022, 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 otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support arrives following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “commitments to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire 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. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Future Environmental Pledges

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 protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade 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 “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show that Ineos has previously received significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.