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Prior to this week's £50m state rescue package for its Grangemouth facility, chemical companies under the ownership of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in UK state aid during the previous four-year period.

Latest Disclosures and Financial Support

Based on official data released recently, public funding to Ratcliffe's chemical empire in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received between £28m and £70m.

The government stepped in on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its sole facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This support comes following Ineos shut down the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback to the area and a challenge for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, reportedly requested government assistance in October. The request coincides with the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, in part due to sharply increased energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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

Nature of Aid and Company Statements

Most the previous state aid was delivered in the form of tax relief in return for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

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

While Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued sharper remarks. In these, the billionaire strongly criticised government policy, including carbon taxes levied on 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 pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe described 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 not covered from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Future 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 efficient chemical plants in Europe and to safeguard skilled jobs. The UK chemicals sector has had a very difficult 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 higher-carbon production 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 boost plant performance.

He noted the site, which uses an ethylene cracker utilising North Sea gas and US-sourced liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “intense strain” from surging energy costs and the UK's carbon taxes.

It has also been reported that Ineos has in the past obtained 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 leave the EU.