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Before the recent £50m government bailout for its Grangemouth facility, industrial firms controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support over the past four years.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

Based on government disclosures released recently, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has received a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened this week to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that without it the UK would lose its last remaining facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Plant Closure and Wider Challenges

This support arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a political problem for the government.

Ratcliffe, who is worth $14.5bn, is understood to have asked for government assistance in October. This appeal coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has faced considerable economic strain, partly 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 downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his Ineos Grenadier automotive project and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the previous state aid came in the form of tax relief in return for “commitments to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” The value of these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

An Ineos representative said the aid did not represent “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 answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. High energy costs and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign rivals. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Future Sustainability Claims

The Ineos representative 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. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. Should we fail to manufacture these critical products in the UK, they are imported instead, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's Olefins & Polymers division, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker running on North Sea gas and imported 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, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—interestingly while Ratcliffe was a leading supporter of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.