Manchester United Co-Chairman puts £70m shares up for sale

Manchester United’s Co-Chairman, Avram Glazer, has put five million of his shares in the Premier League club up for sale.

The American businessman’s family purchased the club in 2005 for a leveraged buyout at £790 million, and the 60-year-old could pocket more than £70 million from a successful sale.

A deadline of 16 March has been set on the sale of the Class A ordinary shares, which valued them at $20.13 apiece when the New York Stock Market closed on Thursday evening. However, the club confirmed in a statement to the New York Stock Exchange that it ‘will not receive any proceeds from the sale’.

The sale would see Glazer’s own holdings reduced to 10.2%, whilst the Glazer family’s combined ownership stake would drop from 78% to 74.9%.

According to The Times, the family will continue to run the club with no plans to sell any further shares, despite many supporters criticising how the Glazer’s have operated the club since acquiring the 13-time Premier League champions.

Hailing the sale as the start of a ‘more diversified ownership model’, the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) said: “Ultimately this is the Glazer family relinquishing some of its control, albeit in a relatively limited way.

“For those of us who want a change in ownership model, the Glazer family selling shares is the only way this can happen.

“The downside of this move is that the shares being sold have inferior voting rights and the proceeds from the sale will not go into the club.”

Last week, the club reported a net debt of £455.5 million in 2021, with the three-time UEFA Champions League winners posting a £64.2 million year-on-year increase in net debt in its second quarter results, which has been largely attributed to the financial impact of COVID-19.

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