Manchester United has confirmed the sale of a 25% stake to the British billionaire petrochemicals tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) has said fans have “mixed feelings” following the sale and they “remain sceptical” because the Glazer family, which is deeply unpopular with supporters, still runs the club.
MUST said in a statement: “During 18 years of debt, decay and mismanagement, Manchester United fans have loudly and consistently called for change at our club.
“When the so-called strategic review was announced nearly a year ago, it finally appeared that the sale of the club was on the horizon, potentially bringing the new investment and new direction MUFC so clearly needs.
“Against that backdrop, fans have very mixed feelings today. We welcome the investment from a boyhood red, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos company, but many will wish his ownership stake was greater than the initially rumoured 25%… But with the Glazers still in charge, people should understand that United fans will remain sceptical and wait for the proof in the pudding.”
Image: Manchester United fans let off flares as they protest against the Glazer family in 2021
Former Manchester United player Gary Neville has called the club a “disgrace” and said the timing of the confirmation is “truly awful”.
He wrote on the X social media platform: “Manchester United 2023 has been a disgrace to the end.
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“The timing of this is truly awful and no functioning organisation would even think about it. Anyway all the very best to Jim Radcliffe (sic) and I hope he can somehow work out a way to get the club right again and back to being something respectable on and off the pitch.”
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Sources said earlier that United and Sir Jim’s Ineos Sport would confirm that he is acquiring the interest for $33-a-share (£26).
The deal, which comes after a torrid season for the Red Devils on the pitch, will see Sir Jim take control of the club’s footballing affairs once it is approved by the Premier League – a process expected to take between six and eight weeks.
He will inject $300m (£237m) into the club for investment in its infrastructure, taking his immediate outlay to roughly $1.5bn (£1.2bn).
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‘Mixed feelings’ at Man United sale
Sir Jim, chairman of the chemical company Ineos, will nominate Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc to join the club’s board once the purchase is approved.
He will also delegate seats on Man United PLC board to Ineos shareholder John Reece and Ineos Sport chair Rob Nevin.
The British billionaire will acquire up to 25% of Manchester United’s listed A-shares of part of the deal.
The Glazers have also sold 25% of Manchester United’s B-shares, which carry greater voting rights, to Sir Jim as part of the deal.
Image: Manchester United, playing in white, continued their poor form this season by losing 2 – 0 to West Ham
Sir Jim said after the deal was confirmed: “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.
“Whilst 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.
“We are here for the long term and recognise that a lot of challenges and hard work lie ahead, which we will approach with rigour, professionalism and passion. We are committed to working with everyone at the club – the board, staff, players and fans – to help drive the club forward.”
The Manchester United Supporters Trust statement in full
During 18 years of debt, decay and mismanagement, Manchester United fans have loudly and consistently called for change at our club.
When the so-called strategic review was announced nearly a year ago, it finally appeared that the sale of the club was on the horizon, potentially bringing the new investment and new direction MUFC so clearly needs.
Against that backdrop, fans have very mixed feelings today.
We welcome the investment from a boyhood red, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS company, but many will wish his ownership stake was greater than the initially rumoured 25%.
We note the statements that he and his team will control sporting activities, yet puzzle how any organisation can put its very core business in the hands of a minority shareholder, and how that meaningfully works in practice.
It is now incumbent on the club’s owners and management to properly explain how this new structure will work, where the new investment will be directed and how it will benefit the team on the field.
As the supporters trust, we expect to have discussions with the club management and the INEOS team in the near future to understand their plans, and to put to them the very many questions fans have today.
Today might – just might – be a step forward for Manchester United after some very difficult years.
But with the Glazers still in charge, people should understand that United fans will remain sceptical and wait for the proof in the pudding.
Manchester United’s executive co-chairmen and directors, Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer, said: “We are delighted to have agreed this deal with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos. As part of the strategic review we announced in November 2022, we committed to look at a variety of alternatives to help enhance Manchester United, with a focus on delivering success for our men’s, women’s and academy teams.
“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. Manchester United has talented people right across the club and our desire is to always improve at every level to help bring our great fans more success in the future.”
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From November 2022: Manchester United owner Avram Glazer confronted by Sky News in Palm Beach
United fans will welcome the deal – but their Old Trafford home is likely to need far more than £245m to deliver the overhaul that is required to turn it into one of the world’s elite football stadia once more.
The redevelopment will be financed personally by the billionaire and will not add to Manchester United’s existing borrowings.
Sir Jim’s purchase of a 25% stake in the Red Devils has been confirmed more than a year after the Glazer family, which has controlled the club since 2005, began formally exploring a sale.
The deal between the Glazers and Sir Jim comes after months of negotiations with several potential buyers, including the Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, who wanted to acquire full control of the club.
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has ordered hundreds of agency workers at its main distribution centre to stay at home as it grapples with the unfolding impact of a cyberattack on Britain’s best-known retailer.
Sky News has learnt that roughly 200 people who had been due to undertake shift work at M&S’s vast Castle Donington clothing and homewares logistics centre in the East Midlands have been told not to come in amid the escalating crisis.
Agency staff make up about 20% of Castle Donington’s workforce, according to a source close to M&S.
The retailer’s own employees who work at the site have been told to come in as usual, the source added.
“There is work for them to do,” they said.
M&S disclosed last week that it was suspending online orders as a result of the cyberattack, but has provided few other details about the nature and extent of the incident.
In its latest update to investors, the company said on Friday that its product range was “available to browse online, and our stores remain open and ready to welcome and serve customers”.
“We continue to manage the incident proactively and the M&S team – supported by leading experts – is working extremely hard to restore online operations and continue to serve customers well,” it added.
It was unclear on Monday how long the disruption to M&S’s e-commerce operations would last, although retail executives said the cyberattack was “extensive” and that it could take the company some time to fully resolve its impact.
Shares in M&S slid a further 2.4% on Monday morning, following a sharp fall last week, as investors reacted to the absence of positive news about the incident.
At that price, the company’s founder and chief executive, Will Shu, would be in line for a windfall of more than £170m.
Deliveroo further announced, before trading on Monday, that it had suspended its £100m share buyback programme.
The opening share price reaction took the value to 171p per share – still shy of the 180p on the table – and well under the 390p per share flotation price seen in 2021.
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Deliveroo’s shares have weakened nearly 50% since their market debut.
The deal is not expected to face regulatory hurdles as it provides DoorDash access to 10 new markets where it currently has no presence.
But a takeover would likely represent a blow to the City of London given the anticipated loss of a tech-focused player.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “If the deal is done at that price, the company will fail to shake off the ‘Floperoo’ tag it was saddled with after its disastrous IPO debut in 2021.
“Even though Deliveroo has finally broken through into profitable territory, the prolonged bout of indigestion around its share price has continued.
“The surge in demand for home deliveries during the pandemic waned just as competition heated up. Deliveroo’s foray into grocery deliveries has helped it turn a profit but it’s still facing fierce rivals.”
She added: “The DoorDash Deliveroo deal will be unappetising for the government which has been trying to boost the number of tech companies listed in London.
“If Deliveroo is purchased it would join a stream of companies leaving the London Stock Exchange, with too few IPOs [initial public offerings] in the pipeline to make up the numbers.”
A trade deal with the US is “possible” but not “certain”, a senior minister has said as he struck a cautious tone about negotiations with the White House.
Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips there was “a serious level of engagement going on at high levels” to secure a UK-US trade deal.
However, Mr McFadden, a key ally of Sir Keir Starmer, struck a more cautious tone than Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the prospect of a US trade deal, saying: “I think an agreement is possible – I don’t think it’s certain, and I don’t want to say it’s certain, but I think it’s possible.”
He went on to say the government wanted an “agreement in the UK’s interests” and not a “hasty deal”, amid fears from critics that Number 10 could acquiesce a deal that lowers food standards, for example, or changes certain taxes in a bid to persuade Donald Trump to lower some of the tariffs that have been placed on British goods.
And asked about the timing of the deal – following recent reports an agreement was imminent – Mr McFadden said: “We’ll keep working with the United States and keep trying to get to an agreement in the coming weeks.”
As well as talks with the US, the UK has also ramped up its efforts with the EU, with suggestions it could include a new EU youth mobility scheme that would allow under-30s from the bloc to live, work and study in the UK and vice versa.
Mr McFadden said he believed the government could “improve upon” the Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson, saying it had caused “an awful lot of bureaucracy and costs here in the UK”.
He said “first and foremost” on the government’s agenda was securing a food and agriculture and a veterinary agreement, saying it was “such an important area for the UK and an area where we’ve had so much extra cost and bureaucracy because of Brexit”.
He added: “But again, as with the United States, there’s no point in calling the game before it’s done. We’ve still got work to do, and we’re doing that work with our partners in the EU.”
The Cabinet Office minister also rejected suggestions the UK would have to choose between pursuing a trade deal with the US and one with the EU – the latter of which has banned chlorinated chicken in its markets – as has the UK – but which the US has historically wanted.
On the issue of chlorinated chicken, Mr McFadden said the government had “made clear we will not water down animal welfare standards with either party”.
“But I don’t agree that it’s some fundamental choice beyond where we have to pick one trading partner rather than another. I think that’s to misunderstand the nature of the UK economy, and I don’t think would be in our interests to put all our eggs in one basket.”
Also speaking to Trevor Phillips was Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who said the government should be close to closing the deal with the US “because we got very close last time President Trump was in office”.
She also insisted food standards should not be watered down in order to get a deal, saying she did not reach an agreement with Canada when she was in government for that reason.
“What Labour needs to do now is show that they can get a deal that isn’t making concessions, so we can have what we had last month before the trade tariffs, and we need serious people doing this,” she said.