Industrial Firms Controlled by Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe Received Up to £70m in UK State Aid Over the Past Four Years
Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.
Latest Disclosures and Financial Support
According to government disclosures released this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire 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 prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.
Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges
This support arrives following Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback 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 assistance in October. This appeal coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In a sign of increasing concern over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.
Form of Support and Official Responses
Most the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements 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 representative 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 separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.
“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”
Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Investment and Environmental Pledges
The Ineos representative 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. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”
Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, cut 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 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.
