‘Tax exile’s half-baked scheme’: Jim Ratcliffe challenged over Man Utd plan to use public funds for £2bn stadium project
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owner of Manchester United, has been challenged over the proposed use of hundreds of millions of pounds of public funds to deliver his vision of building the “world’s greatest stadium”.
Ratcliffe, who has an estimated fortune of about £12bn, quit the UK for tax-free Monaco in 2020. He is now urging ministers to help support the club’s vision of the stadium with public funds to regenerate the surrounding area.
The club has claimed the project – eagerly backed by ministers as part of a growth agenda – could help deliver a £7.3bn annual boost to the UK economy by 2039. However, the stadium only provides a fraction of this sum, with a large tranche of public funds required to secure the venture.
Graham Stringer, a Labour MP and former leader of Manchester city council, hit out at the project last week, describing it on the website Confidentials Manchester as a “tax exile’s half-baked, misbegotten scheme”.
Speaking to the Observer, Stringer, a United season ticket holder, said: “The stadium doesn’t happen without public funds. Any representations to local or central government for public money to go into this scheme should be refused.”
He said the money could be used more effectively in other parts of Greater Manchester and it was “outrageous” that Ratcliffe was pushing the government for public funds to help increase the value of his business.
Ratcliffe, chair of the petrochemicals company Ineos, agreed a deal in December 2023 to buy a minority stake in United worth about £1.25bn. He extended his shareholdings last year, now owning almost 29% of the club.
The businessman, who was born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, has used his fortune to back a string of sports teams, including the Ineos Britannia sailing team trying to win the America’s Cup and Ineos Grenadiers, one of the world’s most successful cycling teams.
It was reported in 2019 that less than a year after he was knighted for services to business and investment, Ratcliffe was planning to avoid up to £4bn in tax by switching his residence and fortune to Monaco. Ratcliffe has responded that he employs thousands of people in the UK and contributes hundreds of millions of pounds to the economy.
The Glazer family, who made their fortune from shopping centres in the US, still control the majority of voting rights at United. Ineos, meanwhile, is in charge of sporting operations at the club.
Since becoming co-owner, Ratcliffe has presided over approximately 450 job cuts at the club and other cost savings, including closing down the staff canteen at Old Trafford. He warned this month that United would have been “bust at Christmas” without these measures.
Despite the financial struggles and the team languishing in 13th place in the Premier League table, Ratcliffe revealed this month that the club was backing plans for the 100,000-capacity stadium close to the Old Trafford ground. He said that the proposed £2bn stadium – the centrepiece of a new regeneration project – would become a destination like the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The project envisages a vast canopy spanning the stadium and a public plaza twice the size of Trafalgar Square. The architect Foster + Partners, appointed by the club to develop the master plan for the scheme, said the stadium will overlook a “mixed-use miniature city of the future”.
A report commissioned by United claimed the project could deliver an additional £7.3bn to the UK’s economy each year. The stadium itself would, however, only contribute an extra £243m a year to the local economy by these calculations, compared with the current Old Trafford ground.
Tony Syme, head of finance and economics at Salford University, said: “The overwhelming majority of economic impact comes from the regeneration, not the stadium itself.” He added that the biggest investment was likely to be from public funds required to prepare the site, create public amenities and build the infrastructure.
The scheme has won the support of key backers, including Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, and Sebastian Coe, who chaired the Old Trafford regeneration taskforce, which investigated the options for the club’s home ground and infrastructure.
Burnham has insisted no public funds will be used for the construction of the stadium, but has been lobbying for government funding for the wider regeneration scheme and site preparation. The construction of a new stadium would require the relocation of an adjacent rail freight hub at a cost of between £200m and £300m.
The area surrounding the stadium, which is part of a growth area in Manchester known as the Western Gateway, would also be eligible for public funding. It is intended the use of public funds would help “pump-prime” private sector investment.
Waseem Hassan, a Labour party councillor for Old Trafford, said he fully supported the project, but residents also wanted the club to contribute to the community. He said: “It needs to happen because we need regeneration in the north. We are asking the club to contribute to schools, infrastructure and the environment.”
A Greater Manchester Combined Authority spokesperson said: “The Old Trafford regeneration scheme represents the biggest sports-led regeneration scheme since the London 2012 Olympics. As was the case in London, public sector funding can help to unlock sites and deliver infrastructure, enabling massive private sector investment. Public money would not be used to build a new stadium.”
A spokesperson for Trafford council said: “This is a once-in-a-generation chance to totally transform Old Trafford and the surrounding area.
“It will breathe new life into the region with the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs and much- needed new homes being built.
“The next step will see us shortly appointing a team of consultants to devise a strategic master plan to map out how the regeneration project will look.”
United declined to comment.
