INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are reportedly looking to sell Lausanne-Sport barely 12 months after putting OGC Nice up for sale, according to reports.
Ratcliffe's chemicals company also co-owns Manchester United with the Glazer family and was delegated responsibility for managing football operations two and a half years ago. INEOS have explored selling Nice since last year but still owns the Ligue 1 club that almost got relegated this May, despite Ratcliffe's asking price dropping from £217million (€250million) to under £173million (€200million) in January.
Sales Processes Underway
US-based investment bank Lazard is overseeing the Nice sale. The global consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal is doing likewise with Lausanne-Sport.
According to The Athletic, the latter has already circulated sales prospectuses to prospective buyers titled "Project Striker". The document describes the club as "an established top-flight contender".
Lausanne-Sport's Recent Struggles
That is a bold claim given they have suffered three relegations since 2014 and only returned to the top flight three years ago. Lausanne-Sport ended the 2023/24 Swiss Super League campaign in fifth place, but slipped to ninth last season.
They currently find themselves rooted to the bottom of the 12-team division after 10 matches. The Swiss Super League side are based in the same city as their former headquarters — the company was based there between 2010 and 2016, with their headquarters now in Knightsbridge.
They have managed just a single league victory this term — a situation not entirely unlike Manchester United, who sit 16th in the Premier League following their humbling 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Focus on Manchester United
News of Lausanne-Sport being placed on the market emerged less than 24 hours after that fixture concluded, sparking widespread rumours regarding the future of head coach Michael Carrick, who is United's third boss in just over two-and-a-half years since INEOS took charge of football operations.
Nice are presently their top-performing club, positioned 10th in Ligue 1 after eight fixtures. Nevertheless, they ended last season in 16th place and won a relegation play-off against Saint-Etienne to avoid dropping into Ligue 2 for the first time since 2002.
The chemicals giant has also previously backed the New Zealand national rugby union team, Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team, and Tottenham Hotspur. Yet those partnerships have come to abrupt ends in recent years, with INEOS now apparently looking to concentrate almost exclusively on United should it succeed in offloading Lausanne-Sport and Nice.
Ratcliffe set out the company's objectives for 2026 this summer, stating: "We need to get our businesses in the best shape that we can, which means low cost; we have to reduce our cap x; we have to spend every pound carefully and manage our businesses well."
