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Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures and Financial Support

According to government disclosures released this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown 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 significant setback to the local community and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government assistance in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Company Statements

The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements 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 precise figures.

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

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, specifically 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 pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

The Ineos representative 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. The UK chemicals sector 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 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 new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost 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 rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show that Ineos has previously received substantial tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.