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Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.

Recent Disclosures and Bailout Package

Based on official data released this week, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its financial health, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Company Statements

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

An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “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 also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised 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 falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

The Ineos representative 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. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products 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, said the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” 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, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.