Tottenham Hotspur have launched High Court proceedings against Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Automotive over a contractual dispute concerning the early termination of a sponsorship agreement.
Court records have revealed that Tottenham filed a commercial claim on June 12 against Ineos Automotive Limited, though specific documents remain unavailable.
The dispute centres on Ineos' withdrawal from a five-year partnership deal agreed in December 2022, which designated the Ineos Grenadier as Tottenham's official 4x4 vehicle partner.
Ineos maintains they exercised a "contractual right to terminate" the partnership in December 2024, however, the matter evidently remains unresolved between the parties.
Tottenham Hotspur and Ineos initially signed a five-year contract
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The partnership between Tottenham and Ineos began during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the petrochemicals giant became the club's "official hand sanitiser supplier".
This relationship expanded significantly in December 2022 with the announcement of a lucrative five-year agreement promoting the Ineos Grenadier as Tottenham's official 4x4 vehicle partner.
The arrangement became notably awkward following Ratcliffe's £1.3billion investment in Manchester United last year, acquiring a minority stake in Tottenham's domestic rivals.
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Ineos CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake in Tottenham rivals Manchester United in 2023
PAThe two clubs also faced off in the Europa League final this year, with Tottenham running out victors.
Ineos branding had been prominently displayed on dugouts and advertisement screens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the company sought to withdraw prematurely from the deal.
An Ineos spokesman defended the company's position, stating: "Ineos Automotive has been a partner of Tottenham Hotspur since 2022, taking on a partnership agreement that Ineos Group had in place with the club since 2020.
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"Like any business, we have to be diligent in how we operate and where we invest marketing budgets.
"It's completely normal for partnerships to be reviewed on a regular basis, and we've decided that the partnership wasn't working out for us."
Reports from March suggested Ineos would pay a "not insignificant sum" believed to be in the millions to exit the agreement early.
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Tottenham beat Manchester United in the Europa League final last month
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The situation mirrors Ineos' attempt to exit early from their sponsorship deal with New Zealand's All Blacks, who also took legal action over withdrawal from an agreement not due to end until 2027.
A settlement was reached in March 2025 regarding that dispute, whilst Ineos also terminated a partnership with Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup sailing team.
Ineos has cited the "deindustrialisation" of Europe and "extreme" green carbon taxes as reasons for recent cost-cutting measures.
The company shut down its synthetic ethanol plant in Scotland earlier this year, resulting in approximately 600 job losses.
Ratcliffe has also overseen over 400 redundancies since he arrived at Old Trafford, in a host of cost-cutting measures that the British billionaire has introduced.
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