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Before the recent £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.

Recent Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to government disclosures released recently, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This intervention arrives following Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance 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, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings downgraded 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 minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “commitments to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”

Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including 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 described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

The Ineos spokesperson added: “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 safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce 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 Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an processing unit running on 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 in the past obtained substantial 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 leave the EU.