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

Recent Revelations and Financial Support

According to official data published this week, 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.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This intervention arrives after Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its financial health, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's credit 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 Company Statements

The majority of the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these relief schemes 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 “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”

Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are driving 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 put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

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 productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the new funding would be used to enhance 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 “intense strain” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained significant 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.