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Before this week's £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Recent Disclosures and Bailout Package

Based on official data released this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £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 Grangemouth operations, concerned that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This intervention arrives following Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government help in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's 2022 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 had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Company Statements

Most the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

An Ineos representative said the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “awarded against strict criteria, and open to any UK business that qualifies.”

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 answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust 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.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

The Ineos representative added: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to keep it as one of the most productive chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He noted the site, which uses an processing unit 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.

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 prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.