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Prior to this week's £50m government bailout for its Scottish plant, chemical companies controlled by tycoon Jim Ratcliffe had already been granted as much as £70m in British government support during the previous four-year period.

Latest Revelations and Financial Support

According to government disclosures published this week, public funding to the Ineos group in the most recent year was between £16m and £38m. From August 2022 onwards, the conglomerate has received a total of £28m and £70m.

Authorities intervened on Tuesday to provide Ineos with £50m to support its Grangemouth operations, concerned that without it the UK would lose its sole facility producing ethylene—a vital raw material for plastics. Officials additionally supported a £75m loan guarantee, while Ineos pledged to invest £30m of its private capital.

Refinery Shutdown and Wider Challenges

This support arrives after Ineos closed the adjacent oil refinery in late 2024, costing 400 jobs—a move described as a huge blow to the area and a political problem for the government.

The billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $14.5bn, is understood to have requested government assistance in October. The request comes at a time when the wide-ranging Ineos group, controlled by the 73-year-old, has been under significant financial pressure, partly due to soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign of growing unease over its ability to manage debt, the credit rating agency lowered Ineos's debt rating in September. Ratcliffe has also had to commit substantial resources into his off-road vehicle venture and the turnaround of Manchester United, in which he holds a partial ownership.

Form of Support and Official Responses

Most the earlier government support was delivered in the form of tax relief in exchange for “voluntary agreements to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.” Figures for these tax breaks for Ineos's sites in Grangemouth and Hull are reported as ranges rather than precise figures.

An Ineos spokesperson said the aid did not represent “favourable terms” for the company, but was “granted based on strict criteria, and open to any UK business that meets the requirements.”

Although Ratcliffe publicly welcomed the £50m support in an announcement, Ineos separately issued 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,” Ratcliffe wrote. “Without a strong manufacturing base, the economy will falter. Soaring power prices and burdensome carbon levies are pushing industry out of the UK at an unsustainable pace.”

Speaking elsewhere, Ratcliffe labelled carbon taxes as “an extremely foolish levy in the world,” contending they place UK plants at a disadvantage against foreign rivals. It is noted that most chemicals and plastics are excluded from the UK's initial carbon import tax.

Investment and Sustainability Claims

The Ineos representative added: “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 protect skilled jobs. British industry has had a very difficult year, yet society depends on this industry every day. If we don't produce these essential materials 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 enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and upgrade overall performance.

He explained the site, which uses an processing unit utilising North Sea gas and imported liquefied petroleum gas, had been under “extreme pressure” 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, valued at hundreds of millions of euros—notably while Ratcliffe was a prominent backer of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.