Sir Jim Ratcliffe rejects offer in £174m legal dispute

INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have been at the centre of major change at Manchester United since becoming involved with the club in 2024.

Ratcliffe initially completed the purchase of a minority stake in United worth around £1.25billion.

INEOS subsequently took responsibility for the club’s football operations.

Their work at Old Trafford has attracted significant scrutiny, with United’s transfer business among the areas to receive criticism this summer.

Michael Carrick’s squad has been strengthened by the arrivals of Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Karl Darlow, although the latter is expected to predominantly provide experienced back-up in goal.

United have now also managed to get a major deal over the line by signing Carlos Baleba from Brighton and Hove Albion, giving Carrick another significant midfield option.

However, Ratcliffe’s sporting interests extend well beyond Manchester United and developments elsewhere in the INEOS portfolio have now placed the billionaire at the centre of another dispute.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe rejects peace offer amid INEOS legal dispute

New court papers have revealed that a peace proposal from Sir Ben Ainslie’s Athena Racing was rejected amid its ongoing legal battle with INEOS Racing, according to Sail-World.com.

The dispute concerns assets remaining from the 2024 America’s Cup challenge operated under the INEOS Britannia name, including the team’s AC75 yacht.

INEOS Racing financially backed that campaign to the tune of £174 million and has claimed ownership of the assets, while Athena Racing also claims ownership and currently possesses them.

Court papers state that Ainslie wrote to INEOS Sport director and INEOS Group General Counsel Jonny Ginns in April, requesting that a proposal allowing Athena to retain the assets for the next America’s Cup be considered in “good faith”.

However, Athena’s amended defence states that Ginns, acting on behalf of the INEOS Racing board, rejected the request outright in a letter dated June 5.

The proposal could have allowed Athena Racing to use the disputed AC75 and other assets for its next America’s Cup campaign while reducing the immediate impact of the legal battle.

The case remains unresolved, with INEOS Racing given until September 15 to respond to Athena Racing’s amended defence.