Sir Ben Ainslie’s feud with Sir Jim Ratcliffe is being heard in court after a series of allegations were made against Ineos representatives and their chief
Sir Ben Ainslie has claimed he was warned that Sir Jim Ratcliffe would “burn your house down” unless he surrendered his team’s assets and intellectual property to the Manchester United co-owner’s Ineos empire, according to documents filed at the High Court.
The alleged threat was reportedly delivered by Jean-Claude Blanc and Rob Nevin, the chief executive and chairman of Ineos Sport, at Ainslie’s Barcelona office in October 2024, just hours before Ainslie was set to make history in the America’s Cup against New Zealand.
Ratcliffe had bankrolled Ainslie’s campaign by pouring millions into the project as Britain sought to claim the prestigious competition for the first time in its 175-year history.
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It is alleged that Blanc and Nevin informed Ainslie that Ratcliffe would only fund future America’s Cup bids if he transferred “all of [the team’s] assets and intellectual property” — with the clear implication that refusal would spell the end of his Athena team.
Ainslie alleges that Nevin stated: “We have a phrase at Ineos: ‘scorched earth’. It means that if you don’t give Jim what he wants, he will burn your house down.”
The filing, prepared by Meysan Partners UK LLP, further states that Ainslie “attempted to defuse the situation by reminding Mr Nevin that the first AC37 race would be beginning shortly.
Mr Nevin then reiterated and expanded upon his threat, explaining that the only instance in which Sir Jim had backed down from a dispute was one concerning the state of the People’s Republic of China.”
The filing states that Ineos “must have been aware that it would distract Sir Ben from his preparation to the detriment of the Defendant [Athena], and to the detriment of the prospects of the America’s Cup being won”.
Britain’s most decorated sailor has levelled several serious claims while defending himself against a High Court action brought by Ratcliffe’s Ineos. They are seeking to compel Ainslie’s Athena Racing squad to surrender the “£180m boat” they constructed jointly for the previous America’s Cup.
Ineos lodged a claim in April and declared that “having provided approximately £174 million of funding for the design, construction and testing of a racing yacht and related assets, the Claimant is entitled under the Agreement to ownership of those assets following its expiry. Wrongfully and in breach of contract, however, the Defendant has refused to transfer these assets to the Claimant and has wrongly disputed its obligation to do so.”
In defence filings seen by The Telegraph, Athena Racing has accused Ratcliffe and Ineos of exerting “undue commercial pressure” through “hostile negotiating tactics”. They have also claimed “false imprisonment” after Ainslie and his Athena associates were allegedly confined within their Northamptonshire headquarters following the separation of the two parties.
It is claimed that Ineos violated a non-compete agreement by revealing intentions to compete for the 38th America’s Cup next year alongside former technical collaborators Mercedes F1 and refused them entry to a simulator at their facility.
Ainslie’s defence is mounted against Ineos Racing Limited, though the four-time Olympic gold medallist has outlined in the filing that “the Claimant [Ineos Racing] is ultimately controlled and directed, whether directly or indirectly, by Sir Jim Ratcliffe” and the Ineos Group.
The claims in the filing are contained within a section titled: “The Claimant does not come to equity with clean hands.”
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