The last few years have been trying for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with the Man United co-owner’s estimated wealth almost halving since its peak in 2023.
In terms of its raw value, his £1.25bn stake in Manchester United is a relatively modest item in his portfolio. Even before we arrive at the real meat of his investment profile, the stake he owns in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team is still probably worth more.
But it is Ineos, the chemicals firm that Sir Jim Ratcliffe founded in 1998 and in which he has a 60 per cent stake, that is the jewel in his crown.
For context, Man United generated club-record revenue of £667m in 2024-25. Ineos? Across the group’s various businesses, they say they earned £55bn in the last financial year, about 8,200 per cent more than the Red Devils.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Manchester United project will only succeed if ______
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And yet, it is Ratcliffe’s outpost on Sir Matt Busby Way rather than his oil and gas rigs in the North Sea or his various chemical refineries dotted about the globe that garners the most press attention and scrutiny.
The club is a passion project for the sport-obsessed 73-year-old, who bought about 25 per cent of United’s Class A and B shares from the Glazer family and various institutional investors.
And while United are – whisper it – quietly creeping up the table under Ruben Amorim this season, the Oldham-born businessman’s time at Old Trafford so far has been a psychodrama that has uncovered and, in many cases, caused all sorts of underlying trauma at the club.
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Hundreds of staff unceremoniously fired, a 15th-place Premier League era nadir, an anointed manager and director of football dismissed, quixotic plans for a towering new stadium, and mutiny at the front and back of house, as well as in the stands.
A detailed view of a devil's fork featuring the faces Manchester United owners Avram Glazer, Jim Ratcliffe, Joel Glazer and Malcolm Glazer as fans protest outside the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Aston Villa FC at Old Trafford on May 25, 2025
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
It was never going to be easy. The Glazer family had been absentee landlords in Manchester for too long, allowing the stadium to decay, resentments among fans to metastasise, and a regressive footballing culture to set in.
Time will tell whether the drastic measures imposed by Ineos over the last two years will pay off, but you certainly cannot accuse Ratcliffe of inaction.
He has invested hundreds of millions of pounds and countless man hours into this project.
But at a time when his core business is struggling, how financially sustainable really is his mission to restore United to greatness?
Ineos get £125m government grant as business crisis continues
Ineos’ revenues are huge, yes, but the company’s losses are mounting.
In the last financial year, the company was in the red by £124m and had accumulated debts of close to £9bn. Tariffs hit the company hard, while side ventures like the 4×4 Grenadier electric offroad vehicle – another Ratcliffe passion project – have suffered from disappointing sales, product recalls and supply chain issues.
Like United, the wider Ineos empire has shed hundreds of jobs in the last 12 months.
Several reputable agencies have downgraded Ineos’ credit rating, while Ratcliffe himself has bemoaned the political environment and green energy laws for the group’s travails.
Until recently, it looked like the company’s only remaining chemical plant in Britain was about to close for good. But as has been widely reported, the government has stepped in with a £125m bailout, which it says will save 500 jobs.
The outlook for Ineos remains bleak, however. Ratcliffe himself has said that the chemicals industry is on the brink of “catastrophic decline.”
If his premonition is correct, could Ratcliffe consider selling off some of his stake in Ineos and instead plunge more resources into United?
“Such is the size of Ratcliffe’s issue, he wants a legacy,” says University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to United in Focus.
In this photo illustration the Ineos Group Ltd logo is seen
Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
“He wants to be the man who turned Man United around, the boy from Failsworth who restored the club to its rightful place in the hierarchy. If that means that, from a cash point of view, he has to divest of part of Ineos, he would quite happily do that.
“His main concern, however, would be getting maximum value out of the sale of Ineos, which would be difficult.
“Market conditions aren’t great, but Ineos is still a huge, multi-billion pound asset. And while it is a much bigger business than Man United, it doesn’t generate the same cultural cachet as owning one of the world’s top football clubs.”
What do Ineos’ struggles mean for Man United?
Unlike almost all of their rivals, United have the luxury of gigantic revenues that have insulated them from the worst consequences of a decade or near-perpetual failure on the pitch.
However, the club has not been self-sufficient financially for some time, with cash injections from Ratcliffe and, to a much lesser extent the Glazers, needed to cover operating costs. Debt, of course, has also risen as United have failed to bring home the bacon on the pitch.
And for as long as United continue to miss out on the Champions League, it is likely that wages, transfer instalments, administrative expenses and other costs will continue to be funded at least in part by external investment.
If Ineos – and, by extension, Ratcliffe – are suffering liquidity problems, it will make funnelling resources to United more difficult, especially given that it will likely be a decade or more before Ratcliffe can even begin to contemplate a return on investment.
There are alternatives. One of Ratcliffe’s other clubs, OGC Nice, are said to be for sale for just north of £200m. If that cash was extricated to Old Trafford, it would be a significant boost, although certainly not a silver bullet.
Manchester United’s multi-club network
Should Ineos be making better use of United's sister clubs? 🤔
Talking Points creatives showing the locations of Ineos-owned Manchester United, Lausanne Sport and OGC Nice
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In fact, that wouldn’t have covered United’s cash deficit in 2024-25, which was about £202m before adding back loans and Ratcliffe’s cash injections.
And so, while Ineos are by no means nearing collapse, a sustained downturn in performance could have very real consequences in M16.
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