Man Utd not for sale, insist Florida owners
Christopher Thompson, 22:18, Friday 25 February 2011
Manchester United’s reclusive owners have denied rumours of an imminent takeover deal.
The Florida-based Glazer family said “no discussions” with buyers had taken place and affirmed that the football club, top of the English Premier League, “is not for sale and … will not entertain any offers”.
The statement came amid speculation about a possible offer from the Qatar royal family. last week the related Qatar Holding investment vehicle reportedly denied it had plans to launch a buy-out, which observers speculated could attract a bid of up to £1.5bn ($2.4bn).
Increased commercial sales saw overall club revenue in the six months to December 31 increase from £144.7m to £156.5m. the rise was largely down to a new sponsorship deal with Aon (Xetra: 865852 – news) , the US insurance broker, which helped lift commercial revenue 30 per cent from £38.7m to £50.4m. Pre-tax profits remained stable at £21.8m.
Gross debt declined from £512.5m to £489.4m, largely thanks to a decision by the Glazers to buy back £24m in company bonds. Jonathan Moore, an analyst at Evolution Securities, said the high debt was still a concern for investors.
“[The buy-back] was the surprise … that saved [the Glazers] something like £2m in annual interest expenses. the payment-in-kind loans remain a mystery but people are now more relaxed.”
Interest paid on loans rose from £18.8m to £23.6m in the six-month period.
In November the Glazers paid down £220m of punitive high-interest payment-in-kind loans taken out in 2006, a year after they bought the club in a leveraged £790m deal. the club has remained silent on how they were repaid.
This year the Glazers transferred the parent company shareholding to a new company registered in Delaware, which requires disclosure of a bare minimum of corporate information. the club said it had £134.5m in cash on its books, part of which is expected to be used in the transfer market after the retirements of defender Gary Neville and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
“[The cash] gives us flexibility. it could include transfers or investments in facilities,” said the club.
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