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Manchester United are exploring an early termination from a 10-year lease agreement at their London offices in Kensington in the latest cost-cutting measure proposed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
United moved into the Kensington Building less than two years ago after the expiry of a 10-year rental agreement on another office building in Mayfair, but with Ratcliffe deciding that the vast majority of the club’s staff should be based in Manchester, the 23,000-square-foot space has been deemed to be too large and expensive.
In announcing a “transformation plan” last week that will involve between 150 and 200 redundancies, United committed to maintaining a presence in London, but the Guardian has learned this will involve looking for new premises. While downsizing at their current office is also being considered, it is understood that moving out entirely two years into a 10-year agreement is viewed as the most likely course of action. United’s current offices in Kensington are located less than a mile from Ineos headquarters in Knightsbridge, but this convenience is unlikely to influence Ratcliffe’s thinking, which is based on making the club as financially efficient as possible.
Ratcliffe has often preferred to use his Ineos offices for United business since buying a 28% stake in the club 15 months ago, with Erik ten Hag’s fate as manager effectively sealed at a Knightsbridge summit in October involving the 72-year-old co-owner, chief executive Omar Berrada, then sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox. The Dutchman was sacked two weeks later, with Ruben Amorin appointed as his replacement shortly afterwards.
United set a trend for big northern clubs when opening a London office 15 years ago, a move since followed by Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton and Leeds, which played a part in transforming them into a commercial juggernaut. Under the leadership of former executive chair Ed Woodward, most of United’s senior staff were based in London, including the club’s senior transfer negotiator, Matt Judge, with the offices also used to entertain corporate clients and leading agents from around the world.
Under Woodward’s successor, Richard Arnold, United’s centre of gravity moved back towards Old Trafford and the Carrington training ground, a change of emphasis that has accelerated following Ratcliffe’s £1.25bn investment in the club. United signed a 10-year lease to rent the entire top floor of the Kensington Building, which covers 16,000 square feet, plus a 7,000-square-foot roof terrace, before Ratcliffe bought into the club in May 2023, so some renegotiation will be required.
Ineos have made a habit of such renegotiations in recent months, with Ratcliffe’s parent company also looking to reduce their cost base amid rising debts. In addition to the cuts at United, which last week included the revelation that the staff canteen at Old Trafford will close with free lunches replaced by fruit, Ineos have severed ties with Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team, served notice to New Zealand Rugby over a sponsorship deal with the All Blacks and entered into discussions with Tottenham over an early termination of Ineos Grenadiers’ partnership agreement with the club.
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In last week’s email to staff announcing the transformation plan, United confirmed there would be a reduction in the number of people working in the capital, with some employees to also be moved from Old Trafford to Carrington due to limited space at the stadium. The latest changes also follow earlier alterations to working patterns at United implemented by Ratcliffe, including a ban on working from home, which led to some corporate hospitality boxes at Old Trafford being repurposed as temporary offices on non-match days due to limited space.
