Telegraph: Tottenham sues Ineus, saying the other party terminates the "grenadier" car promotion agreement early

June 13, The Daily Telegraph exclusively reported that Tottenham Hotspur club filed a high court lawsuit against Sir Ratcliff's Ineos Group for a prematurely terminated business cooperation agreement. Earlier, Inex decided to withdraw from a five-year multi-million-pound cooperation agreement that aims to promote Inex Automobile's off-road vehicle "Grenadier".

In the commercial listing under "general commercial contracts and arrangements", Tottenham Hotspur club filed a claim against Inex Automobile, whose parent company is Inex Group, a multinational company that owns Manchester United.

In December 2022, Tottenham and Inex jointly announced a multi-million pound five-year agreement to promote Inex's Grenadiers' car as the club's "official four-wheel drive vehicle partner".

However, since at least February this year, the two sides have been negotiating that Inex withdraw from the agreement two years before the agreement expires. The negotiations seem to have failed to reach an agreement, and Tottenham filed a claim on June 12, less than a month after they beat Manchester United in the UEFA Cup final and qualify for the Champions League next season.

In fact, the cooperation between the two parties began in 2020, when the petrochemical company was designated as the club's "official hand sanitizer supplier" during a special period. But in recent months, Ineos has successively terminated partnerships with several top sports organizations, including the British sailing team led by Sir Ben Ainsley and the New Zealand men's rugby national team.

In February this year, the Daily Telegraph reported that the New Zealand Rugby Association also filed a legal lawsuit against Inex for contract breach of contract because the other party terminated the six-year cooperation agreement originally scheduled to end in 2027. However, the two sides then reached a settlement.

Inelis said that due to Europe's "extreme" green carbon tax policy, companies were forced to cut costs, warning that this could lead to "de-industrialization" throughout the continent. Ratcliffe also earlier accused energy prices and carbon taxes of causing Inex's synthetic ethanol plant in Grangemus, Scotland, which directly led to the loss of 80 jobs and indirectly affected about 500 jobs.

In December 2023, Ratcliff acquired a 27.7% stake in Manchester United, and the club has since taken several major financial measures, including raising fares and laying off hundreds of employees. When announcing its cooperation with Inex Motor in 2022, Tottenham Hotspur said: "Our cooperation with Inex Motor represents a combination of an innovative British brand with an iconic London football club. Both parties are committed to breaking boundaries, being brave to innovate, while adhering to authentic values ​​and traditions." Inex said in a statement that in December last year, they exercised their "termination rights stipulated in the contract" and ended their partnership with Tottenham. A spokesperson said: "Inelis Automobile has been a partner of Tottenham club since 2022, and since 2020, Inelis Group has signed a cooperation agreement with the club.

"Like any enterprise, we must operate cautiously and allocate market budgets wisely. Regular review of partnerships is completely normal and we believe this collaboration does not work for us. Therefore, we have the right to terminate this partnership. ”

And Tottenham club has been asked to comment.