Sir Jim Ratcliffe has increased his stake in Manchester United after injecting a further £79.3m ($100m) promised when he bought his minority stake last year.
The British billionaire now owns 28.94% of the club, up from 27.7%. The latest investment is set to help fund improvements off the pitch rather than help bolster Ruben Amorim’s squad during January’s transfer window. When Ratcliffe bought into United a year ago, the deal included a guarantee that he would put £238m ($300m) into infrastructure and this is the final instalment of those payments, which the US Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed was paid on Wednesday.
The SEC filings show Ratcliffe has transferred his shares in United to Ineos from Trawlers Ltd, the company that bought the original stake from the Glazer family. This means United are now part of the wider sporting group that Ineos owns, including a cycling and sailing team.
Ratcliffe has made a number of key decisions in an attempt to return United to their previous heights as one of the world’s most successful clubs. A new hierarchy was put in place, consisting of the chief executive, Omar Berrada, the technical director, Jason Wilcox, and, for five months, Dan Ashworth as sporting director. Amorim was brought in to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag in November.
Reducing spending has been a key remit for Ratcliffe, leading to 250 employees leaving, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial role will conclude at the end of the season as part of cost-cutting measures. The minority owner has also received criticism for a mid-season ticket price increase and removing concessions for children and pensioners for the remaining fixtures.
