Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United and head of Ineos Energy, has announced the withdrawal of their funding in the UK, redirecting their investments to the United States.
Ineos Energy, which is the oil and gas production and trading division of Ratcliffe’s business empire, had been investing significantly in their oil refinery located in Scotland until recently.
However, with the impending closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery scheduled for April 2025, Brian Gilvary, the executive chairman of Ineos Energy, has conceded that any further investment in the UK is no longer an option.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Gilvary remarked: “We have ceased our investments in Britain. Our future investments will not be directed towards the UK. There is no doubt about that.
“The issue is that the UK has evolved into one of the most unpredictable fiscal environments globally concerning natural resources and energy.
“This situation prevents us from investing with any level of certainty, as we cannot predict future tax rates,” as reported by the Manchester Evening News. Meanwhile, Ineos Energy is now planning to allocate £3 billion towards the oil and gas sector in the US, with no indication that this will affect Ineos’ involvement with Manchester United.
The Daily Mail reported last month that the drag-along clause in the agreement between the Glazers and Ratcliffe is currently in effect.
In layman’s terms, this clause allows the American majority stakeholders to sell their complete shares of the club, including those held by Ineos, to another buyer without Ratcliffe’s ability to intervene.
Such clauses are generally included to prevent minority stakeholders from holding the majority hostage by refusing to sell. Ratcliffe has publicly recognized this clause and expressed his hope that it will not be activated, but he may find himself in a challenging position if Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani chooses to renew his interest.
However, according to the Mail, it’s highly unlikely that the Qatari businessman will do so. The appetite for buying United now seems to be low, given the success of Qatari-owned PSG and the monumental task of returning the Red Devils to their former glory.
Instead, the focus in Qatar appears to have shifted towards securing the hosting rights for the 2036 Olympics. Their main competition for the games is currently India.
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