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Before this week's £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid over the past four years.

Recent Revelations and Financial Support

Based on official data released this week, state aid to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support comes following Ineos shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under considerable economic strain, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its financial health, 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 Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in return for “commitments to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos spokesperson stated the aid did not constitute “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that qualifies.”

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 levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they place UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded 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 protect 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.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, said the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and boost overall performance.

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

It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.