Ratcliffe pays £79m for increased Man Utd stake

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has increased his shareholding in Manchester United, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings released on Thursday.

The British billionaire has paid around £79 million ($99.6m) for another 1.24% of the club. He formally agreed to pay £1.2 billion for a 27.7% stake in December last year, meaning the latest investment increases his share to 28.94%.

The Glazer family, who bought the Premier League club in 2005, remain the majority owners.

The SEC filing also revealed that the shares in United have been transferred from Ratcliffe to his INEOS company. Ratcliffe, 72, is chairman, CEO and founder of the chemical company.

A source has told ESPN that the additional funds will not be spent in the January transfer window and will instead be used across the club. Ratcliffe has overseen a process of cost-cutting which has led to more than 250 employees being made redundant.

Ruben Amorim has been told that there will be a limited budget available in January, with the club announcing losses of more than £300m over the past three seasons.

Ratcliffe has been heavily criticised during his spell at United. He has faced backlash for a decision to raise ticket prices and has been accused of ignoring the club’s women’s team.

He was also part of the decision to extend Erik ten Hag’s contract just five months before sacking the Dutchman and axing sporting director Dan Ashworth a matter of months after paying Newcastle around £5m for his services.