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Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Recent Revelations and Financial Support

Based on official data published recently, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the company has received between £28m and £70m.

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

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

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

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to soaring energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

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

An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “special treatment” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The answer 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.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered 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 very difficult 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 more polluting operations abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

He explained 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 previously received significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.