England cricket chiefs using Ratcliffe’s Man United deal to sell Hundred stakes
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of 27.7 per cent of Manchester United is being used by the England and Wales Cricket Board to help market Hundred franchises.
The Ineos founder’s stake at Old Trafford is being used as an example of how a minority investor can attain huge influence at a major sporting institution if the deal is structured correctly.
The ECB is hoping to raise £400m by selling 49 per cent of the eight Hundred franchises to private investors, with the other 51 per cent gifted to host organisations such as Surrey CCC and the MCC.
That offering has raised concerns about whether the target market of Indian Premier League owners and US sports franchise investors will be interested in buying a minority stake.
But Ratcliffe appears to have been given almost complete operational control of Manchester United in return for his £1.25bn investment.
The 71-year-old took charge of this summer’s key appointments, such as chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth, and the decision to give a new contract to manager Erik Ten Hag.
Ineos is also leading on plans to redevelop Old Trafford, with Gary Neville, Andy Burnham and Sebastian Coe recruited to a stadium task force and Populous appointed as project architects.
The ECB’s Hundred sales process is due to formally start next month and the hope is that it will conclude by the end of the year.
During informal talks with interested parties over the last few months the ECB has made clear that minority investors will be given considerable influence for the right price, including the power to change team names and branding.