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Prior to the recent £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of tycoon Jim Ratcliffe were already awarded up to £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures and Financial Support

Based on official data released recently, state aid to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Scottish ethylene plant, concerned that without it the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility producing 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 Wider Challenges

This intervention arrives following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in late 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. The request coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, under the control of the 73-year-old, has faced significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency downgraded Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise the football club, in which he holds a minority stake.

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

The majority of the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax breaks in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull were given as estimates rather than exact amounts.

An Ineos representative stated the aid did not represent “special treatment” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and available to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos also released more critical comments. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on industrial users.

“The solution is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will falter. High energy costs and burdensome carbon levies are driving industry out of the UK at an alarming rate.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe described carbon taxes as “the most idiotic tax in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon import tax.

Investment and Environmental Pledges

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. The UK chemicals sector has had a brutal year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials in the UK, they are brought in from overseas, often from higher-carbon production abroad.”

Colin Pritchard, head of sustainability for the company's chemicals unit, said the new funding 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 US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” from surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

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