Manchester United’s minority owners INEOS has settled a sponsorship dispute with New Zealand Rugby (NZR).
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s petrochemical firm had been seeking to renegotiate their performance partnership with the governing body, which was stated as being worth £22million ($27m) when the six-year deal was announced in 2021.
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On Monday evening, NZR and INEOS released a joint statement to announce the parties had reached an agreement to the dispute.
“New Zealand Rugby and INEOS can confirm that a settlement has been reached between the two parties,” it read.
“Whilst the details remain confidential, both organisations are satisfied with the outcome and acknowledge a desire to now move forward.”
The sponsorship agreement between INEOS and NZR saw the company’s branding appear on jerseys and other official clothing of all seven New Zealand rugby teams, including the senior men’s team the All Blacks and senior women’s side the Black Ferns — three and six-time World Cup-winners respectively — alongside the nation’s Maori team and sevens teams.
In mid-February, NZR alleged that INEOS had cut short their six-year long agreement by three years when they failed to pay the first instalment of their 2025 sponsorship fee. The body immediately signalled their intention to take the matter to court.
“Having learned of INEOS’ decision to walk away three years early, we have moved to protect the interests of New Zealand Rugby and the wider game,” an NZR statement at the time read. “We have been left with no option but to launch legal proceedings to protect our commercial position.”
In their own counter-statement, INEOS blamed a change in “trading conditions” caused by high energy costs and said it had hoped to find a “managed solution” to the issue.
“Trading conditions for our European businesses have been severely impacted by high energy costs and extreme carbon taxes, along with much of the chemicals industry in Europe, which is struggling or shutting down,” the INEOS statement read.
“As a result, we have had to implement cost-saving measures across the business. We sought to reach a sensible agreement with the All Blacks to adjust our sponsorship in light of these challenges.”
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INEOS acquired a minority stake in Manchester United in February 2024. The Glazers remain majority owners of the club but INEOS controls football operations.
Ratcliffe’s company also own Swiss club Lausanne and has a 17 per cent minority stake in Ligue 1 side Nice.
INEOS has further sporting ventures outside of football too, owning one-third of the successful Mercedes F1 team and the INEOS Grenadiers Tour de France-winning cycling team. However, it is looking for a co-sponsor for their INEOS Grenadiers cycling squad and in January split with Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup sailing team.
(Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Jacob Whitehead is a reporter for The Athletic, who covers a range of topics including investigations and Newcastle United. He previously worked on the news desk. Prior to joining, he wrote for Rugby World Magazine and was named David Welch Student Sportswriter of the Year at the SJA Awards. Follow Jacob on Twitter @jwhitey98
