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Sir Jim Ratcliffe heads for court battle with ‘astounded’ Ben Ainslie as America’s Cup row erupts

The partnership between Ben Ainslie and Ineos is over
The partnership between Ben Ainslie and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos is over - L Goldman

Manchester United’s controlling power, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and Britain’s most successful sailor, Ben Ainslie, look set for a messy legal battle as their dispute over control of Britain’s America’s Cup team erupted into the public domain on Thursday.

As Telegraph Sport revealed on Wednesday, the relationship between the pair had been on the brink of collapse and it was the Ineos billionaire – who owns 28.94 per cent of United – who moved first.

Ratcliffe issued a statement declaring the end of his relationship with Ainslie after they “could not find agreement on terms to move forward”, as well as his intention to enter a new challenge for the 38th America’s Cup under the team name Ineos Britannia, and still using the technical might of the Mercedes Formula One team, in which Ineos owns a third share.

In response, Ainslie said he was “astounded” by Ratcliffe’s move, suggesting there were a number of “significant legal and practical obstacles” which would prevent him from pushing ahead with his plans. It is expected that a row is now brewing as to whom the assets and intellectual property of the team belong to.

A statement from Ainslie’s team read: “The British Challenger for the 38th America’s Cup, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, was astounded to read today’s statement from INEOS and Mercedes F1 regarding their planned challenge for the 38th America’s Cup. This plan raises significant legal and practical obstacles for them that will play out in the coming days and weeks.

“Furthermore, Sir Ben Ainslie’s British America’s Cup team will be known as Athena Racing going forwards, aligning with the British Women’s and Youth America’s Cup team, the Athena Pathway.”

Ineos Britannia's Ben Ainslie prepares for round 1 of his race
Ainslie will not captain the Ineos Britannia boat moving forward - Reuters/Albert Gea

The development marks a sad day for British sailing after the highs of last autumn’s America’s Cup in Barcelona. In October, Ainslie’s team became the first British challenger in history to win the America’s Cup challenger series, known as the Louis Vuitton Cup, and the first British team to contest a Cup match for 60 years.

The two men celebrated side by side on their yacht after that thrilling Louis Vuitton victory over Italians Luna Rossa, spraying champagne over each other.

Although Ineos Britannia went down 7-2 to defenders New Zealand in the final, Britain’s two points in the final were the first for a British team in 90 years and Ainslie and Ratcliffe both declared the campaign a success.

The relationship has clearly soured badly. In his statement, Ratcliffe notably declined to thank Ainslie for his efforts leading the team across two campaigns. Instead, he suggested Ineos had already moved on and were well advanced with their plans for AC38, appointing Dave Endean – a Kiwi who was the team’s project director in Auckland in 2021 and the team’s COO in Barcelona last year – to the role of chief executive.

Ratcliffe added that Ineos would “also continue to leverage the design and technology expertise of the Mercedes F1 Team under the guidance of Technical Director, James Allison.” Allison, one of Formula One’s most celebrated engineers, was technical director for the last Cup cycle, although the Formula One team’s struggles meant that latterly he was not able to give as much time to the sailing project as originally intended.

Ratcliffe said: “I am enormously proud of what we achieved in Barcelona in developing a British boat that was truly competitive for the first time in decades. It set new benchmarks for British sailing, including winning the Louis Vuitton Cup for the first time, and taking races off the Defender in the finals for the first time in 90 years. We will now build upon this for the 38th America’s Cup through the INEOS challenge and already have 100 scientists and engineers working on the design of our AC38 yacht.”

Ainslie’s response suggests he will not give up personnel, assets or IP without a fight.

The 47-year-old established Ben Ainslie Racing in 2012 with the ambition to “bring the Cup home”. The America’s Cup was born off the Isle of Wight in 1851, making it the oldest sporting competition in the world. Britain has never won it.

With title sponsors Land Rover, Ainslie competed in the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017 before Ratcliffe came on board a year later, the team changing its name to Ineos Britannia. Ratcliffe has since pumped in around £200 million across two cycles, as well as facilitating the partnership with Mercedes F1.

A protracted legal dispute is the last thing either man needs. Ratcliffe, 72, is deep into trying to turn around United in the midst of a dire run and a low-key January transfer window. In December, he increased his share in United to 28.94 per cent with a final instalment payment of £79 million. The total value of his stake is now just over £1.25 billion.

There are already questions over whether the scale of Ratcliffe’s investment in United is beginning to impact on the rest of his sporting portfolio. As well as sailing and Formula One, Ineos has many sports sponsorships and partnerships, including cycling’s Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky.

Last week, Ineos Grenadiers chief executive John Allert revealed that Ratcliffe was not prepared to spend additional funds on the team and was seeking a second title sponsor. Ainslie, meanwhile, knows that every week that goes by is another week he is not building his team for the next Cup. Continuity is crucial in the America’s Cup. Sadly, delays now look inevitable with this dispute destined for the courts.


The Ratcliffe-Ainslie split – explained

Why have Ratcliffe and Ainslie split?

They appear to have had a serious disagreement over the ownership and running of the team. Thursday’s statement from Ineos came after weeks of talks over how to move forward into the next Cup cycle. Ineos Britannia are officially challenger of record for the 38th Cup, whenever that might be, their challenge having been accepted by defenders New Zealand at the end of the 37th Cup match in October. But the British challenge is now in disarray with Ratcliffe splitting from the four-time Olympic champion and declaring his intention to launch his own challenge, albeit using the same name, the same technical partners in Mercedes F1, and at least some of the same personnel, with Dave Endean (formerly the team’s COO) and James Allison (technical director) both apparently signed up. Ainslie’s response, that he was “astounded” by Ratcliffe’s statement and warning there were “significant legal and practical obstacles” to the billionaire’s plans, suggests a messy legal fight is now on the cards.

Who actually owns the America’s Cup team?

Ratcliffe ploughed upwards of £200 million into Ainslie’s America’s Cup team, although it is unclear whether that outlay bought him any control of assets or intellectual property. The team itself is owned by Athena Racing Ltd, which according to Companies House is owned by Athena Holdco Ltd, which is wholly controlled by Ainslie. This ownership structure is presumably why Ratcliffe announced his intention to enter a new challenge for the 38th Cup rather than simply continue with the existing one and try to force Ainslie out. What is unclear is whether the Ineos co-owner will be able to use the existing IP and assets. Ainslie, meanwhile, has announced his intention to continue as challenger of record, changing the team’s name to Athena Racing.

Where is the boat and all the IP/equipment?

Unclear. The boat was last seen at the team base in Barcelona and may still be there. But most of the IP will presumably be in Brackley, Mercedes F1’s headquarters in Northamptonshire. Up until Bermuda 2017, the team had been based out of Portsmouth. Their charitable arm, the 1851 Trust, of which the Princess of Wales is a patron, is still based there. But following the tie-up with Ineos in 2018 it made far more sense to base UK operations out of Brackley given the F1 team’s huge resources. It is unclear whether Ainslie’s team still has access to this space following the falling out with Ineos, which owns one third of the Mercedes F1. Neither statement on Thursday made any mention of this aspect.

So who holds Britain’s Challenger of record?

Ainslie’s team is still officially the challenger of record. That does not appear to be disputed by Ratcliffe. Although America’s Cup rules dictate that it is not actually the team who are the challenger. All America’s Cup teams sail under the flag of a yacht club, and it is actually Royal Yacht Squadron, based in Cowes, whose challenge for the 38th Cup was accepted by the Royal New Zealand Royal Yacht Squadron following the final in Barcelona. It is unclear what the RYS’s position is in this dispute.

Could Ratcliffe cut out Ainslie and the RYS completely?

In theory yes. Ratcliffe does not need Ainslie or Ainslie’s team to launch a challenge for the Cup. He can circumvent them entirely, find another yacht club to represent and submit his own challenge. Indeed this appears to be the Ineos owner’s strategy, albeit he looks certain to face a legal challenge from Ainslie along the way. But certainly if he emerges victorious from that, or even if he doesn’t, he could end up challenging for the 38th Cup. There is, though, a question as to whether his challenge would be accepted. It is understood Ratcliffe enjoys a good relationship with Grant Dalton, Emirates Team New Zealand’s teak tough chief executive and the man who will decide where and when the next Cup is held. So he has that in his favour. But assuming Ainslie’s Athena Racing team survives, there would then be two British challengers. And the challenger of record traditionally has a say in the Protocol for the next Cup. Ainslie, who also enjoys a good relationship with Dalton, having signed for his New Zealand team as tactician back in 2005, would presumably push back on any entry from Ratcliffe. One thing is clear, things are likely to get far messier before they get any clearer. The America’s Cup has a long record of legal disputes and this one looks as if it is going to get ugly.