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Prior to this week's £50m government bailout 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 Bailout Package

According to official data released recently, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility producing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. The government also backed a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the neighbouring oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the local community and a challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government assistance in October. This appeal coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the earlier government support came in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

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

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

“The answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Future Sustainability Claims

The Ineos spokesperson added: “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. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” from rocketing energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

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