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British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe will buy a 25 per cent stake of Manchester United football club.

Sir Jim and his company INEOS are expected to run Manchester United’s football operations as part of the deal to purchase 25 per cent, which could be the first step in a phased takeover, according to Sky Sports News.

It comes after the news on Saturday that Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani has withdrawn from the race to buy the club.

Sir Jim has said he has been a fan of United since childhood.

The Qatari offer, which valued United at more than £5bn, was believed to be the only bid for 100% of the club – that the current owners, the American Glazer family, announced last November could be sold.

Sheikh Jassim’s withdrawal follows further discussions in recent days between his representatives and the Glazer family.

Still a chance Qatari interest could be revived

Sheikh Jassim’s bid team had floated the possibility of withdrawing in May after a lack of progress since making an apparent final offer requested by the Glazers in April.

Sheikh Jassim is understood to have raised his offer since then but it was not satisfactory for the Glazers despite being far more than the club’s $3.3bn valuation on the New York Stock Exchange.

The difference between the parties is over the valuation – which still leaves open the possibility of Sheikh Jassim being enticed back into the protracted process – as protests against the Glazers continue.

But any renewed interest from Qatar would be complicated by the progress made by Sir Jim and INEOS.

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Need for investment amid fan frustration

Anger against the current United ownership has simmered and grown as the club have started the season by losing four of their opening eight Premier League games to sit 10th in the table.

Erik ten Hag’s side have also lost both Champions League group games so far in the 2023-24 campaign.

Sheikh Jassim’s offer would have made United the most expensive sports team in history by at least £200m, eclipsing the deal to buy NFL side Washington Commanders, but still fell short of the Glazers’ own valuation of the club at around £6bn, it was reported earlier this year.

United are in need of investment to upgrade Old Trafford and win the Premier League for the first time since a record 20th league title in 2013.

The Glazers have owned Manchester United since buying it for just under £800m in 2005 – an 18-year tenure marked by protests and a conspicuous dearth of trophies since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, its former manager, also in 2013.

The Red Devils did win their first trophy in six years by beating Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final back in February.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

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Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

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google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
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Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

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