Britain needs to take a lesson from Sir Jim in winning

THE local-boy-done-good Sir Jim billionaire T Ratcliffe has bought a significant stake in Manchester United, the team he followed as a lad, and it shows that, when it comes to making money, British entrepreneurs can still compete with foreign billionaires for top football teams.

- Tim Newark

It also demonstrates there is still money to be made in the UK by getting your hands dirty in unglamorous but important industrial sectors like petrochemicals and energy.

Sir Jim beat off his rival, Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim, to secure 25 percent of the club alongside American owners the Glazers, but, crucially, he also won control of the day-to-day management of the team.

We've got used to foreign billionaires - mainly oil-rich Arabs or Russians being the only ones with pockets deep enough to buy football clubs. So there is something refreshing to have especially someone who actually stood on the terraces as a boy - take over a leading British football club.

one of our own To win the battle for control will have pleased Sir Jim immensely as he is competitive by nature, having invested much of his self-made fortune in supporting sports teams, many representing Britain, and helping them to achieve success in their field.

He knows the value of competition and is unapologetic about it something we almost seem to have lost sight of in this country.

His business, Ineos, is the world's fourth-largest chemicals company, generating annual revenues of $ 65 billion and employing 26,000 people globally.