Sir Jim Ratcliffe strikes deal to buy 25 per cent stake in Manchester United

Billionaire tycoon and Ineos Group chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United, the Premier League club has announced.

Ineos and United have entered an agreement under which Ratcliffe will acquire 25 per cent of the Class B shares held by the Glazer family and up to 25 per cent of the Class A shares while investing £236.7m into its infrastructure.

Ratcliffe is to pay £26 per share, giving the football club a value of nearly £5bn.

Chemicals giant Ineos will also assume delegated responsibility for the club’s football operations, the club said, including “all aspects of the men’s and women’s football operations and academies, alongside two seats on the Manchester United PLC board and the Manchester United Football Club boards”.

Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani was also looking to buy the club but dropped out of the bidding process, saying he would not be increasing his $6bn (£4.7bn) offer, leaving the British billionaire to strike a deal with the owners, the Glazer family.

Ratcliffe said: “As a local boy and a lifelong supporter of the club, I am very pleased that we have been able to agree a deal with the Manchester United board that delegates us management responsibility of the football operations of the club.

“While the commercial success of the club has ensured there have always been available funds to win trophies at the highest level, this potential has not been fully unlocked in recent times.

“We will bring the global knowledge, expertise and talent from the wider Ineos Sport group to help drive further improvement at the club, while also providing funds intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford.”

Executive co-chairmen and directors Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer, who announced a strategic review in November last year, said: “Sir Jim and Ineos bring a wealth of commercial experience as well as significant financial commitment into the club.

“And, through Ineos Sport, Manchester United will have access to seasoned high-performance professionals, experienced in creating and leading elite teams from both inside and outside the game.”

Ineos also owns French Ligue 1 club Nice, Swiss Super League side FC Lausanne-Sport, and works with Racing Club Abidjan of Ivory Coast Ligue One. It is also behind the Grenadiers, one of the world’s most successful cycling teams.

Reporting by PA Media and Reuters