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

Latest Revelations and Financial Support

Based on official data published recently, public funding to the Ineos group in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This support comes following Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government help 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 soaring energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its financial health, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Official Responses

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

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against 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 levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

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

Future Sustainability Claims

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 efficient 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. 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 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.

It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received significant 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.