America's Cup: Ainslie announces new naming rights sponsor

by Sail-World.com/nz 26 Apr 2018 11:25 BST 26 April 2018

British America's Cup team formerly Ben Ainslie Racing has announced that a new naming rights sponsor has been signed in one of the richest America's Cup deals ever.

The privately owned British petro-chemicals company, INEOS has formed INEOS Team GB and says it is making the biggest ever British investment in the America’s Cup in an unprecedented effort to bring the trophy back to Britain for the first time since the competition was established in 1851.

Formed just 20 years ago INEOS has diverse business interests in the petro-chemical industry, and 12 months ago purchased the Forties pipeline from BP from UKP250million. Ratcliffe is ranked at 18th on the 2017 UK Rich List compiled by the Sunday Times, with a calculated net worth of UKP5.7billion (NZD11.3billion). - behind Kirsty and Ernesto Bertarelli (5th) and ahead of Sir Richard Branson (23rd).

The British INEOS Team GB has teamed up with Sir Ben Ainslie who will lead the design and build boat programme and skipper the racing yacht.

INEOS Team GB will represent the Royal Yacht Squadron’s affiliated club, Royal Yacht Squadron Racing who issued the challenge to the current holder represented by Emirates Team New Zealand.

At his final media conference in Bermuda, after then Land Rover BAR was eliminated in the Semi-Finals by new America's Cup champion Emirates Team New Zealand, Ainslie told the international media that all his funding was already in place for the 36th America's Cup. The switch to a new naming rights sponsor for almost NZD220 million was not anticipated.

As well as taking the naming sponsor rights, INEOS Team GB has taken three second tier sponsor spots - for Projekt Grenadier, its 4x4 vehicle business, its clothing business Belstaff, and accommodation business the Lime Wood Group.

Projekt Grenadier is a program to develop a replacement for the Land Rover Discovery 4x4 which stopped production in UK in June 2016. The offroader was conceived in a London pub, The Grenadier, the first major project for the new INEOS Automotive business. The vehicle will draw on German engineering, and the German spelling Projekt was adopted. The Grenadier is due to roll off production line in 2020 - a year before the 36th America's Cup.

The British team has launched a new website with all traces removed of the former sponsor group, said to be reconfirmed in the June 2017 media conference in Bermuda..

The value of the new deal is a significant jump on the UKP80million (NZD160million) program announced for the then Land Rover BAR and believed to have climbed substantially higher than that level. Emirates Team New Zealand have said on the record that they expect to spend NZD100million on the Defence and spent NZD80million to win the Cup in 2017.

Ben Ainslie Racing was originally launched with the backing of a group of City businessmen. It is not clear what the future role, if any, will be of the founding group

Jim Ratcliffe (65), founder and and now INEOS chairman, says in a written statement: "The America’s Cup is one of the world’s most competitive yacht races and Britain has never won it, despite founding the competition over 150 years ago. With the team we have assembled, we believe we can get a fully competitive boat to the start line. After that it’s all down to the fine art of sailing. Ben is arguably the best sailor that Britain has ever produced so we should have a fighting chance of success."

INEOS says it has formed INEOS Team GB to compete for the trophy and is committed to spending £110 million – the biggest ever British America’s Cup investment - to bring the Cup back to the Britain.

INEOS will use its world class technologies and manufacturing know-how to support Sir Ben Ainslie in developing an internationally competitive boat and give INEOS Team GB the best possible chance of success.

Jim Ratcliffe, founder and chairman of INEOS, says, ‘INEOS has taken on many serious projects in the past but none more exciting than this. We have a first-class team and will do everything we can to bring this trophy back to Britain where it belongs.’

INEOS has partnered with Sir Ben Ainslie and his team to design, build and race the two-boat strategy. The boats will be 75 ft foiling mono-hulls and will use the very best of British technology and boat construction.

Sir Ben is Britain’s most decorated and the world’s most successful Olympic sailor. He was a member of the 2013 America’s Cup winning team and is INEOS Team GB’s Team Principal.

INEOS Team GB’s CEO is America’s Cup legend, Grant Simmer, who has competed in 10 America’s Cups and won four, first as a young navigator aboard Alan Bond’s Australia II, then twice with the Swiss team, Alinghi, and most recently with Oracle Team USA where – along with Ben Ainslie – they fought back from an 8 -1 deficit to win the trophy. INEOS Team GB’s Chief Designer is New Zealander, Nick Holroyd, one of the men responsible for Emirates New Zealand’s Cup winning strategy. . He is joined by British Olympic gold medallist, Giles Scott, who will act as the team’s Tactician.

Sir Ben says, ‘This is an amazing boost for British sport. With this significant commitment from INEOS to fully fund a two boat challenge, Britain now has its best opportunity to bring the America’s Cup back home to Britain where it belongs.’

INEOS Team GB will represent the Royal Yacht Squadron’s affiliated club, Royal Yacht Squadron Racing. The Royal Yacht Squadron is one of the world’s most prestigious yacht clubs and was granted the Royal Ensign by King William IV in 1815.

The history of the America’s Cup started at the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1851 when fifteen of its boats raced and lost to a US yacht called ‘America’ from where the cup eventually got its name.

167 years later and Britain has still not won the trophy. The Royal Yacht Squadron Racing has issued the challenge to their rivals and the current Cup holder, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

James Sheldon, the Royal Yacht Squadron Commodore says, ‘The America’s Cup is undoubtedly the most important yachting trophy in the world and we are delighted that Royal Yacht Squadron Racing is supporting INEOS Team GB in its attempt to bring it back home.’

Jim Ratcliffe, the founder and chairman of INEOS, adds, ‘With the resources of INEOS, the skill of Sir Ben Ainslie and his team and the experience of the Royal Yacht Squadron, I think INEOS Team GB has a great chance of success in 2021 and I’m looking forward to the challenge.’