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

Latest Revelations and Financial Support

According to government disclosures released this week, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year ranged from £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has obtained between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, fearing that otherwise the UK would lose its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. The government also backed a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Plant Closure and Broader Context

This support arrives after Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a challenge for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. This appeal comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, in part due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of increasing concern over its financial health, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest significant funds into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to curb consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than precise figures.

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

While Ratcliffe thanked the government for the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist launched a broadside against government policy, specifically carbon taxes paid by industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong 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 labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

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 productive chemical plants in Europe and to protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet everyone relies on this industry every day. If we don't produce these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, 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, 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.

Records show that Ineos has previously received significant tax breaks from the EU, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.