Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos chemical firms received up to £70m of UK state aid in last four years
State aid to Ineos-owned chemical firms totalled up to £70m over the last four years, with last year’s support estimated between £16m and £38m, and since August 2022 the total ranging from £28m to £70m. The UK government approved a £50m bailout for Ineos’s Grangemouth ethylene plant, along with a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to investing £30m of its own money.
This bailout followed the closure of the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, which resulted in 400 job losses. Jim Ratcliffe, whose net worth is about $14.5bn, requested government assistance in October amid rising financial pressures. Ineos has faced increased energy costs following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, leading Fitch Ratings to downgrade its credit rating in September.
Ratcliffe criticized carbon taxes, contending they disadvantage UK plants compared to foreign competitors. Many chemicals and plastics products are not covered by the UK’s carbon border adjustment mechanism. Ineos stated that the aid was not a form of special treatment but was granted under strict criteria available to all qualifying UK businesses. The company also highlighted that it has invested over £400m at the Grangemouth site in the past five years.
The Grangemouth facility operates an ethylene cracker that uses North Sea gas and US liquefied petroleum gas, with energy costs being a significant challenge. Notably, Ineos has previously benefited from EU tax breaks worth hundreds of millions of euros, despite Ratcliffe's support for the campaign to leave the EU.
