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Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.

Recent Disclosures and Bailout Package

Based on official data published recently, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This support arrives after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its financial health, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

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

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Future 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 protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce 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 chemicals unit, said the new funding would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on 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 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.