Tottenham Hotspur have taken Manchester United co-owners Ineos to the High Court.
The North London side have lodged a claim against Ineos Automotive, a subsidiary of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company, after they withdrew early from a sponsorship agreement.
In 2022 – and ahead of Ineos’s involvement with United which has seen them take a 27.7 per cent stake in the club and control of football operations – they signed a multi-million pound, five-year deal which saw the Ineos Grenadier become Spurs’s ‘official 4×4 vehicle provider’.
Ineos branding was commonplace throughout the deal at the Tottenham Stadium on both dugouts and advertisement boards.
However, Mail Sport revealed in March that the deal was due to end early following what were described as ‘amicable discussions’ which would see Ineos pay Spurs a penalty thought to be worth several millions.
But a commercial listing shows that Tottenham subsequently lodged a claim on June 12, less than a month after they defeated United in the Europa League Final to pick up a Champions League spot.
Daniel Levy’s (R) Tottenham have reportedly taken legal action against Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos
The five-year deal was signed in 2022 and Ineos branding was seen at Tottenham’s stadium
Ineos became the 4 x 4 partner of Spurs via their Grenadier vehicle back in December 2022
Ineos, who in 2020 became Spurs’s ‘official hand sanitiser supplier’, have responded to the development with a short and punchy statement.
It reads simply: ‘Ineos Automotive has been a partner of Tottenham Hotspur since 2022, expanding on a partnership agreement that Ineos Group had in place with the club since 2020.
‘We have a contractual right to terminate our partnership contract and in December 2024 exercised that right’.
Amid a wide-ranging cost-cutting review at Old Trafford, Ineos have also been reducing their sports portfolio, ending a relationship with Sir Ben Ainslie’s sailing team and a sponsorship deal with the All Blacks.
New Zealand Rugby are also taking legal action against the company.
