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Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Scottish plant, industrial firms under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures and Bailout Package

According to government disclosures released this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the last year alone was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the company has obtained a total of £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in this week to provide Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that otherwise the UK would lose its last remaining facility manufacturing 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 shut down the neighbouring oil refinery in late 2024, resulting in the loss of 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 asked for government assistance in October. The request coincides with the expansive Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit significant funds into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of the football club, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Nature of Aid and Official Responses

Most the previous state aid was delivered 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 plants in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

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

Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released sharper remarks. In these, the industrialist strongly criticised government policy, specifically carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges 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,” arguing they place UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

The Ineos spokesperson added: “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 safeguard skilled jobs. British industry 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 imported instead, often from more polluting operations abroad.”

A senior Ineos executive, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, indicated the Grangemouth money would be used to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade plant 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 surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received significant tax breaks from the EU, worth hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to exit the European Union.