Tottenham is set to receive over £11m after Ineos quit its Grenadier sponsorship, following missed instalments and a disputed exclusivity clause
Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has ended a legal dispute with Tottenham Hotspur after his company, Ineos, reached an out-of-court settlement with the club.
Tottenham is expected to receive more than $14.7m (£11m) as part of the agreement, bringing closure to a dispute which began after Ineos sought to withdraw early from a five-year sponsorship deal signed in 2022.
The partnership featured branding for the Ineos Grenadier vehicle displayed throughout Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on matchdays, including pitchside LED screens.
Reports first surfaced in December 2024 that Ineos had agreed to exit the deal ahead of schedule, with speculation Ratcliffe’s firm would pay a multi-million-pound settlement.
Ineos and Tottenham Hotspur have declined to comment.
The background
Tottenham claimed Ineos failed to meet its payment obligations in March 2025. The club sought more than £11m in damages, including at least £5.2m in compensation for being compelled to end the partnership early.
The dispute centred on two missed payments, the first being an instalment of more than £5m due in December 2023 and a separate inflation-adjusted sum of nearly £500,000 expected in August 2024.
Under the original contract, annual payments started at £2.1m and were set to rise to £4.6m by the fifth year, excluding VAT and inflation adjustments.
In its legal filings, Tottenham also sought accrued interest and additional costs related to the alleged breach.
Ineos responds
Ineos denied any wrongdoing and argued it had a contractual right to end the agreement, which it said was properly exercised in December 2024.
The company countered by seeking £1m in damages, accusing Tottenham of breaching the exclusivity terms of the deal. Ineos claimed the club held talks with rival car manufacturer Audi during Harry Kane’s high-profile transfer to Bayern Munich, undermining the agreement.
Ineos maintained these negotiations violated its exclusivity rights. Tottenham later admitted to discussions with Audi but insisted the talks did not constitute a breach since no formal deal was made.
A pattern of sponsorship exits
This is not the first time Ineos has faced sponsorship turbulence. In April 2025, the company reached a settlement with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) after announcing it would end its six-year sponsorship of the All Blacks just three years into the deal.
The partnership had included Ineos branding on the team’s shorts and training kits. However, NZR accused the company of missing a NZ$10m ($5.82m) payment for 2025. The termination also meant NZR risked losing a further NZ$21m in revenue for the remainder of the year.
Ineos eventually paid the outstanding amount along with a small additional sum to settle the matter.
