🔗 Share this article Industrial Firms Controlled by Tycoon Jim Ratcliffe Obtained As Much As £70m in UK Government Support Over the Past Four Years Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms under the ownership of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period. Recent Disclosures and Financial Support According to official data released recently, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m. The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital. Plant Closure and Broader Context This intervention arrives after Ineos closed 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. Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Reflecting increasing concern over its financial health, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture 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 relief in return 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 spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open 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 launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users. “The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.” Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon import tax. Investment and 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 brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.” Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance. He explained the site, which uses an processing unit utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes. Records show that Ineos has in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.