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Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Latest Revelations and Bailout Package

According to official data released this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

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

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly requested government help in October. This appeal coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its financial health, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “commitments to curb consumption and CO2 output.” The value of 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.”

Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, including carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies 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 disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Future 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. 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 imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an processing unit running on North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” from surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

Records show that Ineos has in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.