Industrial Companies Owned by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK Government Support In the Past Four Years
Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Latest Disclosures and Financial Support
According to official data published this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received between £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 lose its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context
This support arrives after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 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 help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reflecting increasing concern over its financial health, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.
Nature of Aid and Official Responses
The majority of the earlier government support came in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.
An Ineos representative stated 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.”
Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.
“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
The Ineos spokesperson further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to maintain its status as one of the most productive 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 higher-carbon production abroad.”
A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.
He noted the site, which uses an processing unit utilising 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 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 exit the European Union.
