Sir Jim Ratcliffe has sold luxury motorcycle jacket brand Belstaff to sportswear label Castore, in a further sign of the billionaire scaling back his Ineos empire outside its core chemicals business.
The deal, announced on Thursday, will see Castore acquire the heritage fashion house for an undisclosed sum, while Ineos will take a minority stake in the fast-growing sportswear company, which supplies kit for England’s cricket and rugby teams.
Ashley Reed, Belstaff’s chairman, described the transaction as “a union of two British brands that have come together through shared qualities of purpose-led design and entrepreneurial spirit.”
Ratcliffe, 72, bought Belstaff from German group JAB in 2017, vowing to restore the Stoke-on-Trent-founded label “back to British ownership”. However, the brand has struggled financially. In 2023 it reported an £18 million loss after sales fell 4 per cent, forcing Ratcliffe to inject cash to keep the business afloat. Auditors warned that Belstaff would continue to require support from its owner.
The sale underscores the retreat of Ineos from some of its more adventurous consumer investments. Ratcliffe has diversified heavily into sport and lifestyle ventures in recent years, acquiring stakes in Manchester United and French football clubs Nice and Lausanne-Sport, and sponsoring the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team. But he has also cut back, including ending sponsorship of New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team and reportedly seeking a buyer for a hand sanitiser business launched during the pandemic.
The divestment of Belstaff raises fresh questions over the future of Grenadier, Ineos Automotive’s off-road vehicle brand. The project has already cost Ratcliffe more than £1.4 billion in development and faced setbacks, including a US recall of more than 7,000 vehicles after complaints about faulty doors, and a temporary production halt at its Hambach factory in France following a supplier collapse. Around 20,000 Grenadiers are now on the road globally.
Meanwhile, Ratcliffe has been driving sweeping changes at Manchester United, where Ineos owns 27.7 per cent. Since taking strategic control earlier this year, he has pursued a cost-cutting programme while also backing ambitious plans for a new £2 billion, 100,000-seat stadium.
Speaking this week, Ratcliffe claimed United had been on the brink of financial crisis: “At the end of 2025, Manchester United would have run out of cash. There would be no cash at the end of this year. That is the first time we have ever said that in public, but that is the fact of the matter.”
For now, the disposal of Belstaff suggests Ratcliffe is refocusing his empire on core chemicals and high-profile sporting assets, while drawing back from costly lifestyle bets that have yet to deliver returns.
