Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos counter-sue Spurs over deal linked to Harry Kane transfer

Telegraph

6 hours ago

Ineos is counter-suing Tottenham Hotspur for more than £1m after accusing them of holding sponsorship talks with Audi linked to the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Spurs are suing Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Automotive Limited for more than £11m over allegations it breached a five-year, minimum £17.5m deal signed in 2022 for the club to promote the firm's Grenadier as their 'official 4x4 vehicle partner'.
The contract was terminated on March 11 by Tottenham, who launched legal action in June claiming Ineos failed to pay a £5m-plus annual instalment due on Dec 1, having earlier not paid an inflation-related figure of almost £500,000.
According to the 'particulars of claim' submitted by Spurs, the club are also seeking a minimum of £5,275,974 in damages after the deal was ended with more than two years left to run.
In a defence and counter-claim submitted to the High Court last week, Ineos said: 'The particulars of claim make no mention of a highly significant series of events by which the club, unbeknown to Ineos, started negotiating with a major competitor to Ineos with the intention of granting rights to that competitor which were exclusive to Ineos under the agreement.'
It added: 'On or around 3 August 2023 (i.e. early in contract year two), Todd Kline of the club ('Mr Kline') indicated to Ashley Reed of Ineos ('Mr Reed') that the club had been in discussions with the German car manufacturer Audi AG ('Audi') in connection with rights which were the same as, or substantially similar to, the rights granted to Ineos under the agreement and/or the club had been negotiating with Audi in respect of rights which were exclusive to Ineos under clause 4 of the agreement. According to Mr Kline, the discussions and/or negotiations related to a proposed transfer of the club's player Harry Kane ('Mr Kane') to the German club FC Bayern Munich ('Bayern Munich').'
Ineos' defence went to state that this commercial partnership had 'not materialised' but also said 'this sequence of events ultimately resulted in the parties agreeing that Ineos could terminate the agreement with effect from the end of year three of the contract term'.
It added: 'In the circumstances, it is the club which owes Ineos more than £1 million for failing to provide any rights to Ineos in the final part of year three.'
Contract row
Tottenham's particulars of claim laid out details of a contract the club said involved annual payments starting at £2.125m in year one and increasing to £4.6 million in year five, all plus VAT and index-linked to the rate of inflation.
Spurs said they were also claiming interest and 'further or other relief as the court thinks fit'.
The club declined to comment on their lawsuit.
An Ineos spokesperson said: 'Ineos Automotive was a partner of Tottenham Hotspur from 2022, expanding on a partnership agreement that Ineos Group had in place with the club since 2020.
'We had a contractual right to terminate our partnership contract and in December 2024 exercised that right.'
When news of the legal action first emerged in December, Ratcliffe's firm told Telegraph Sport: '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.'
Spurs' claim was lodged less than a month after they beat Ratcliffe's United in the Europa League final to secure a place in the Champions League.
Cutting ties
Tottenham and Ineos had been in partnership since the petrochemicals company was named as the club's 'official hand-sanitiser supplier' during the coronavirus crisis.
Ineos, however, has been cutting ties with a number of leading sports organisations in recent months, notably Sir Ben Ainslie's sailing team and the All Blacks rugby union team.
Telegraph Sport revealed in February that New Zealand Rugby was also taking legal action against Ineos for an alleged breach of contract after a six-year deal to 2027 ended early, although an agreement was subsequently reached.
Ineos has said that it is being forced into cost-cutting by Europe's 'extreme' green carbon taxes and has issued warnings over what it called the 'deindustrialisation' of the continent.
Ratcliffe also blamed energy prices and carbon taxes earlier this year for forcing the closure of Ineos's synthetic ethanol plant at Grangemouth in Scotland, resulting in the loss of 80 direct roles and an estimated 500 indirect jobs.
Significant financial measures have already been introduced at United since Ratcliffe bought a 27.7 per cent minority stake in December 2023, including increased ticket prices and the loss of hundreds of staff.
Upon the announcement of the Grenadier deal in 2022, Spurs had said: 'Our partnership with Ineos Grenadier represents the coming together of an innovative British brand with an iconic London football club – both of whom are committed to pushing boundaries and daring to do things differently, while staying true to authentic values and traditions.'