Sir Jim Ratcliffe – boyhood fan who has bought 25 per cent of Manchester United

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has become part owner of Manchester United as one of the UK’s richest men has bought a 25 per cent stake in the club he supported as a boy.

The billionaire has bought a share in the Old Trafford club, worth a reported £1.25 billion (€1.4 billion), after Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani withdrew his interest to end a lengthy process where he tried to buy the club outright.

The 71-year-old has a reported net worth £12.5 billion thanks to the success of global chemical company Ineos, which has enjoyed exponential growth since he founded it in 1998, and will assume delegated responsibility for the club’s football operations. He will also invest an additional $300 million (£236.7million) into the club’s infrastructure.

Manchester United reaches agreement for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, to acquire up to a 25% shareholding in the Company.#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 24, 2023

Ratcliffe has been chairman throughout and has seen the company go from 400 employees to 26,000 and annual revenues of around £52.5bn.

Ineos has diversified its interests over the years to incorporate consumer brands and sports interests, which now includes the club Ratcliffe grew up supporting.

Born in Failsworth in 1952, a “quite deep-rooted” passion for United grew as he spent the first 10 years of his life in the Greater Manchester town.

Ratcliffe’s family eventually moved to Hull before he went onto to study chemical engineering at Birmingham University, then gain an MBA from London Business School.

He began his career at Exxon Chemicals before moving to Courtaulds and in 1992 led the buyout of Inspec Group plc, mortgaging his house to help complete that deal.

Six years on, he bought a plant in Antwerp,