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Prior to the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Recent Disclosures and Financial Support

According to government disclosures published this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This support comes after Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the local community and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government assistance in October. This appeal 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 in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

The majority of the earlier government support came in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “commitments to curb consumption and CO2 output.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

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

Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

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 brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

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

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

It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained substantial 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 leave the EU.