Man Utd plot ‘early termination’ of ‘too expensive lease agreement’; ‘most likely’ next step revealed
According to reports, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ‘exploring’ another cut as one of Manchester United’s ‘lease agreements’ has been ‘deemed too expensive’.
Ratcliffe completed his takeover of Man Utd at the start of 2024, purchasing a minority stake in the Premier League giants for around £1.25bn. He initially purchased a 28% stake but has since upped his share to around 29% with a further investment of £79m.
The INEOS chief is only a co-owner of Man Utd, but he took control of Old Trafford’s football operations after his first deal with the Glazer family was struck.
This was initially met with immense positivity, but Ratcliffe has swiftly become a hated figure at Man Utd as he’s sanctioned a brutal cost-cutting programme to raise funds.
Man Utd are second in our five-year Premier League net spend table and Ratcliffe needed to cut costs after inheriting a mess.
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Some of Ratcliffe’s cuts have been necessary, but others have been more harsh as he’s hiked ticket prices, sanctioned mass redundancies, axed Christmas benefits and payments to club legends and limited lunches for staff.
Now, a report from The Guardian claims Man Utd ‘may terminate the lease for their London offices to save money’.
Ratcliffe is ‘exploring’ this move as the current lease in Kensington has been ‘deemed too large and too expensive’.
Man Utd’s current lease in Kensington is due to last for ten years, but INEOS have ‘proposed’ an ‘early termination’ on this ‘agreement’.
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The report has also broken down the current ‘most likely course of action’.
‘United moved into the Kensington Building less than two years ago after the expiry of a 10-year rental agreement on another office building in Mayfair, but with Ratcliffe deciding that the vast majority of the club’s staff should be based in Manchester, the 23,000 sq ft space has been deemed to be too large and expensive.
‘In announcing a “transformation plan” last week that will involve between 150 and 200 redundancies, United committed to maintaining a presence in London, but the Guardian has learned this will involve looking for new premises.
‘While downsizing at their current office is also being considered, it is understood that moving out entirely two years into a 10-year agreement is viewed as the most likely course of action.
‘United’s offices in Kensington are located less than a mile from Ineos headquarters in Knightsbridge, but this convenience is unlikely to influence Ratcliffe’s thinking, which is based on making the club as financially efficient as possible.
‘Ratcliffe has often preferred to use his Ineos offices for United business since buying a 28% stake in the club 15 months ago, with Erik ten Hag’s fate as manager effectively sealed at a Knightsbridge summit in October involving the 72-year-old co-owner, the chief executive, Omar Berrada, the then sporting director, Dan Ashworth, and the technical director, Jason Wilcox.’
