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Prior to this week's £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 Financial Support

According to official data 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 between £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to grant Ineos with £50m to prop up its Grangemouth operations, fearing that otherwise the UK would cease to have its last remaining facility manufacturing ethylene—a critical feedstock for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m credit guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its own funds.

Refinery Shutdown and Broader Context

This intervention arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in September 2024, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs—a move described as a significant setback 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 faced significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Reflecting increasing concern over its financial health, Fitch Ratings lowered Ineos's credit rating in September. Ratcliffe has also been required to invest substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and efforts to revitalise Manchester United, in which he holds a minority stake.

Form of Support and Official Responses

The majority of the earlier government support came in the form of tax breaks in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and CO2 output.” Figures for these relief schemes for Ineos's plants in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than exact amounts.

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

While 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 answer is NOT decarbonisation by deindustrialisation,” he stated. “Lacking a robust manufacturing base, the economy will continue to decline. Soaring power prices and punitive carbon charges are driving industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

In further comments, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” arguing they put UK plants at a competitive disadvantage against international competitors. Currently, most chemicals and plastics are not covered from the UK's planned carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

The Ineos representative further stated: “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 brought in from overseas, 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 improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and boost plant performance.

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

It has also been reported that Ineos has previously received substantial 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.