Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly sued INEOS - the petrochemicals company helmed by Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe - over the early termination of their partnership. According to the Telegraph, Spurs have taken High Court legal action against INEOS after Ratcliffe's attempts to walk away from the club's agreement.
The two parties have collaborated since 2020 when the petrochemicals giant became Tottenham's "official hand sanitiser supplier" during the Covid-19 pandemic. In December 2022, they announced a lucrative five-year deal to promote the INEOS Grenadier car as the Lilywhites' "official 4x4 vehicle partner".
However, they have been locked in negotiations since February as Ratcliffe and Co. seek to withdraw from the deal two years before its 2027 expiry.
It comes at the same time as INEOS' decision to step away from multiple sporting ventures, including rugby union's All Blacks and Sir Ben Ainslie's sailing team.
Yet, the report claims that a withdrawal agreement seemingly hasn't been struck, with Spurs lodging a claim on Thursday.
The claim against INEOS Automotive Limited - a subsidiary of Ratcliffe's company - has appeared in a commercial listing under "general commercial contracts and arrangements".
An INEOS spokesperson told the Telegraph that the company exercised a "contractual right" to part ways with Spurs in December.
"Ineos Automotive has been a partner of Tottenham Hotspur since 2022, taking on a partnership agreement that Ineos Group had in place with the club since 2020," the statement read.
"Like any business, we have to be diligent in how we operate and where we invest marketing budgets.
"It's completely normal for partnerships to be reviewed on a regular basis, and we've decided that the partnership wasn't working out for us. We have the right to terminate the partnership."
INEOS are facing heat from another direction after reports in February claimed New Zealand Rugby had also taken legal action.
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