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Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, industrial firms controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to 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.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical 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 support comes following Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly asked for government help in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

The majority of the previous state aid came in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

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

While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised 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 continue to decline. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are driving 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 excluded from the UK's initial carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

The Ineos representative further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to keep it as one of the most efficient chemical plants in Europe and to protect 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 more polluting operations abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the new funding would be used to improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and imported 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, worth hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.