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Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, industrial firms under the ownership of billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to official data released recently, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. Since August 2022, the conglomerate has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to grant Ineos with £50m to support its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a vital feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos committed to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent 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.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government help in October. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

Most the previous state aid came in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements 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 precise figures.

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 meets the requirements.”

Although Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an official statement, Ineos separately issued more critical comments. In these, the billionaire 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 falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax 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 planned carbon import tax.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

The Ineos spokesperson further stated: “Ineos has invested over £400m at Grangemouth in the last five years to maintain its status 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 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 improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and upgrade 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.

Records show that Ineos has previously received substantial 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.