Manchester United Football Club is an english football cabaret based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. The club was formed as Newton Heath LYR Football Club, the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway terminal in Newton Heath, in 1878. The club split from the railway caller in 1892 and remained under secret ownership for about 100 years, changing its diagnose to Manchester United after being saved from bankruptcy in 1902. The cabaret was the topic of takeover bids from media baron Robert Maxwell in 1984 and property trader Michael Knighton in 1989, before going public in 1991 ; they received another takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch ‘s BSkyB corporation in 1998 before Malcolm Glazer ‘s venture was announced in September 2003. By the end of 2003, Glazer had increased his shareholding from 3.17 % to around 15 %, which he about doubled in the year up to October 2004. His learning of John Magnier and J. P. McManus ‘s 28.7 % post in May 2005 pushed his own up to around 57 %, well over the 30 % threshold that would force him to launch a takeover bid. A few days later, he took control of 75 % of the club ‘s shares, allowing him to delist the ship’s company from the banal exchange, and within a calendar month, the Glazers took 98 % ownership of the golf club via their Red Football parent ship’s company, forcing a squeeze-out of the remaining 2 %. The final buy price of the clubhouse totalled about £ 800 million. Most of the capital used by Glazer to purchase Manchester United came in the shape of loans, the majority of which were secured against the baseball club ‘s assets, incurring concern payments of over £60 million per annum. The remainder came in the form of PIK loans ( payment in kind loans ), which were late sold to hedge funds. Manchester United was not apt for the PIKs, which were held by Red Football Joint Venture and were secured on that company ‘s shares in Red Football ( and frankincense the club ). The interest on the PIKs rolled up at 14.25 % per annum. Despite this, the Glazers did not pay down any of the PIK loans in the first five years they owned the cabaret. In January 2010, the baseball club carried out a successful £500 million adhesiveness write out, and by March 2010, the PIKs stood at around £207 million. [ 1 ] The PIKs were finally paid off in November 2010 by unspecified means. [ 2 ] In August 2012, as partially of further refinance, the Glazers sold a act of shares in Manchester United in an initial public offer ( IPO ) on the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE ). [ 3 ]
Some Manchester United fans opposed Glazer ‘s takeover of the club, peculiarly once they realised the level of debt that the club would have to take on after having been debt-free for so many years. Disgruntled fans launched the football club F.C. United of Manchester in 2005, which entered the North West Counties Football League and played in the sixth tier National League North from 2015 to 2019. Since 2005, the Manchester United Supporters ‘ Trust has been working on a means of returning ownership of the baseball club to supporters ; in 2010, they met with a group of affluent Manchester United fans – dubbed the “ loss Knights ” – to discuss a billion-pound takeover bid. however, the bid fell through when the Red Knights refused to meet the Glazers ‘ valuation of the clubhouse. [ 4 ]
background [edit ]
Manchester United was the discipline of a coup d’etat offer from Rupert Murdoch ‘s BSkyB corporation in 1998. Manchester United was formed as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878 by the workers in the Carriage and Wagon Works of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway ‘s Newton Heath storehouse. [ 5 ] In 1901, the club was in over £2,500 of debt and facing a winding-up order ; [ 6 ] however, they were saved by local brewer John Henry Davies, who changed their diagnose to Manchester United in 1902. [ 7 ] After Davies ‘ death in 1927, the clubhouse fell into fiscal difficulties once again, but James W. Gibson stepped in as a new fiscal benefactor in 1931. [ 8 ] Gibson himself died in 1951, but while his widow, Violet, inherited the ownership of the baseball club, its control passed to film director and former player Harold Hardman. [ 9 ] meanwhile, a local businessman named Louis Edwards began accruing shares in Manchester United [ 10 ] and was finally made president on Hardman ‘s death in 1965. [ 11 ] His son, Martin Edwards, purchased a share of shares from Alan Gibson [ 12 ] – son of early owner James Gibson – and became the majority stockholder and chair when Louis Edwards died in 1980. [ 13 ] During Martin Edwards ‘ time as president, Manchester United was the subject of respective coup d’etat bids ; the first came from media baron Robert Maxwell, who bid £10 million in February 1984, but the sale fell through before any serious talks could take place. [ 14 ] In 1989, property baron Michael Knighton was on the verge of completing a £20 million coup d’etat, [ 15 ] but his fiscal backers pulled out at the last minute [ 16 ] and he had to be message with merely a seat on the board. [ 17 ] Manchester United was floated on the stock market in 1991, [ 18 ] and they received yet another coup d’etat bid in 1998, this time from Rupert Murdoch ‘s BSkyB Corporation. [ 19 ] The Manchester United circuit board accepted a £623 million crack, [ 20 ] but the coup d’etat was blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission at the final hurdle in April 1999. [ 21 ] A few years belated, a baron struggle emerged between the club ‘s director, Sir Alex Ferguson, and his horse-race partners, John Magnier and J. P. McManus, who had gradually become the largest shareholders via their company, Cubic Expression. [ 22 ] In a dispute that stemmed from contested ownership of the sawhorse Rock of Gibraltar, Magnier and McManus attempted to have Ferguson removed from his stead as coach, and the board responded by approaching investors to attempt to reduce the Irishmen ‘s influence. [ 23 ] meanwhile, Avram Glazer – the son of Malcolm Glazer – was looking into investing in european football. The Glazer family already owned several businesses in the United States and had purchased the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League franchise in 1995. They convinced the local government to fund a new stadium for the Buccaneers in 1998 and the franchise won its beginning Super Bowl in January 2003. [ 24 ]
Acquisition of shares and gaining control [edit ]
Following the Manchester United display panel ‘s search for raw investors, [ 25 ] the Glazers purchased their first tranche of Manchester United shares on 2 March 2003, spending around £9 million on a 2.9 % stake, [ 26 ] which they purchased through a holding company called Red Football. On 26 September 2003, it was reported that they had increased their share to 3.17 %, [ 27 ] taking their shareholding above the 3 % doorsill that required them to inform the club ‘s management. There had already been considerable speculation about the possibility of a coup d’etat of the cabaret, either by the Glazers or by one of several other concerned parties. [ 27 ] By 20 October, they had increased their shareholding to 8.93 %, [ 28 ] and on 29 November, it was reported that they owned around 15 % of the clubhouse and had met David Gill, its chief executive, to discuss their intentions. [ 29 ] On 12 February 2004, the Glazers increased their impale in the cabaret to 16.31 % and the follow day ‘s Financial Times reported that they had instructed Commerzbank to explore a takeover command. The club ‘s share price increased by 5 % that day, valuing the club at a entire of £741 million. [ 30 ] The Glazers increased their shareholding to over 19 % the stick to June, although they were still not the largest shareholders. [ 31 ] Their shareholding continued to increase, nearing 30 % by October 2004. Upon reaching 30 %, they would have to launch a conventional takeover command. [ 32 ] In February 2005, over 400 Manchester United fans held a protest at Old Trafford against a potential Glazer coup d’etat. [ 33 ] On 12 May 2005, Red Football announced that it had reached an agreement with shareholders J. P. McManus and John Magnier to purchase Cubic Expression ‘s 28.7 % stake in the club, which gave the Glazers a controlling stake with precisely under 57 % of the club ‘s shares. [ 34 ] They then managed to secure the stake of the third-largest stakeholder, Scottish mining entrepreneur Harry Dobson, taking their share full to 62 % of the club. [ 35 ] By 13 May, the Glazers had bought a far 12.8 % stake, taking their entire ownership to 74.81 %, just shy of the 75 % doorway that would allow them to end the club ‘s public limited party ( PLC ) condition and delist it from the London Stock Exchange. [ 36 ] On 16 May, the Glazers took their shareholding in Manchester United to 75.7 %, [ 37 ] and a calendar month subsequently, on 22 June, they removed the club ‘s shares from the stock exchange for the beginning time in 14 years. [ 38 ] The Glazers ‘ shareholding increased gradually to 76.2 % by 23 May, when they made their final put up of 300 penny per share, with a deadline of 3 post meridiem on 13 June. [ 39 ] On 26 May, the Manchester United board wrote to the remaining shareholders indicating their intention to sell their own shares and advising the others to follow suit ; in the same letter, chair Sir Roy Gardner and non-executive directors Ian Much and Jim O’Neill offered their resignations. [ 40 ] On 7 June, Avram Glazer and his brothers Joel and Bryan were appointed to the Manchester United board as non-executive directors. [ 41 ] Despite the board ‘s encouragement, the Glazers ‘ share in the club had only reached 97.3 % by 14 June, short-change of the 97.6 % threshold required for a compulsory buyout of all remaining shareholders, prompting them to extend the deadline on their offer to purchase the remaining shares until 27 June. [ 42 ] A statement released on 28 June said that Red Football ‘s shareholding had reached 98 % ( 259,950,194 shares ), prompting a squeeze-out of the remaining shareholders. [ 43 ] The concluding evaluation of the club was about £790 million ( approximately $ 1.5 billion at the exchange rate at the time ). [ 42 ]
aftermath [edit ]
The Glazers retained David Gill as headman executive of Manchester United after taking control in 2005. On 29 June 2005, on their inaugural chew the fat to Old Trafford after the takeover was completed, Joel, Bryan and Avram Glazer were met with protests by around 300 Manchester United fans who opposed the club ‘s new ownership. Around 100 members of Greater Manchester Police were called to the stadium in an attack to quell any violence, but there were reports of missiles being thrown at the police vans and chants of “ die, Glazer, die ” ; two people were arrested. The vice-chairman of Shareholders United, Sean Bones, declared that “ the Glazer family are the enemies of Manchester United ”. [ 44 ] Club director and erstwhile musician Bobby Charlton issued a populace apology to the Glazers for the reception they received. [ 45 ] In promote reply to the takeover, a group of Manchester United supporters created a newfangled baseball club called F.C. United of Manchester. This alleged “ phoenix club ” was accepted into the North West Counties Football League second division, six promotions away from The Football League, and secure promotion in each of its first three seasons, doubly as league champions. [ 46 ] After the takeover, Manchester United continued to thrive, with the 2005–06 season seeing Old Trafford ‘s capability being expanded and a lucrative new shirt sponsorship cope signed in April 2006 with american company AIG ( which had a large impale in a hedge store caller that helped to fund Glazer ‘s takeover of the club ). [ 47 ] Increased tax income from television rights to each contest the golf club participates in, a well as its diverse sponsorship deals, besides boosted the clubhouse ‘s profitableness. This came despite fears among many supporters that the debt incurred in buying the cabaret could lead to insolvency. [ 48 ] contrary to the fears of many fans, the Glazers took carry through to ensure that Gill and veteran coach Sir Alex Ferguson remained at Manchester United, citing the duet ‘s success with the club. [ 49 ] [ 50 ] In 2006, Malcolm Glazer ‘s early two sons, Kevin and Edward, and his daughter, Darcie, were appointed to the Manchester United board as non-executive directors. [ 51 ] [ 52 ]
Refinancing [edit ]
The debt taken on by the Glazers to finance the coup d’etat was split between the club and the family ; between £265 million and £275 million was secured against Manchester United ‘s assets, [ 53 ] putting the club into debt for the first clock time since James Gibson saved them in 1931. This lend was provided by three New York hedge funds : Citadel, Och-Ziff Capital Management and Perry Capital. [ 54 ] The total sum was £660 million, on which interest payments came to £62 million a year. The clubhouse stated, “ The value of Manchester United has increased in the last class, which is why lenders want to invest in the baseball club … This move represents good housekeep and it ensures that Sir Alex Ferguson will be provided with sufficient funds to compete in the transfer market. ” The Manchester United Supporters Trust responded, “ ‘The total of money needed to be repaid overall is huge … The concern requital is one thing but what about the actual £660 million ? It is unmanageable to see how these sums can be reached without significant increases in ticket prices, which, as we constantly suspected, means the fans will efficaciously be paying for person to borrow money to own their baseball club. ” [ 55 ] [ 56 ] Under the terms of the Glazers ‘ refinance, as they were unable to repay bondholders by 16 August 2010, the overall pastime rate on the loans rose from 14.25 % to 16.25 %, resulting in annual payments of around £38 million. [ 54 ] On 11 January 2010, concisely before an announcement that Red Football ‘s debt had increased to £716.5 million ( $ 1.17 billion ), [ 57 ] Manchester United announced their intention to refinance the debt through a attachment topic worth approximately £500 million. [ 58 ] They managed to raise £504 million in barely under two weeks, meaning that they were able to pay off about all of the £509 million owed to external banks. The bonds were issued in two tranches, one with a coupon rate of 8.75 % deserving £250 million, and the other with a coupon rate of 8.375 % worth $ 425 million. The annual sake collectible on the bond came to approximately £45 million per annum, with the chemical bond due to mature on 1 February 2017. [ 59 ] Contained within the adhere course catalog were covenants that would allow the Glazers to filter large sums of money out of the club to repay the PIKs by 2015. These include the carving out of £95 million in cash, the sale and lease-back of the Trafford Training Centre at Carrington, and the ability of the Glazers to pay themselves 50 % of the consolidate net income of the baseball club every class. [ 1 ] In May 2010, before the concluding game of the season, hundreds of Manchester United fans held a protest outside Old Trafford against the Glazer ownership. [ 60 ] On 16 November 2010, it was revealed that the Glazers were to pay off the remaining £220 million contained within the PIK loans by 22 November 2010. [ 61 ] The loans were by then accruing interest at a pace of 16.25 %, as the club ‘s overall debt had exceeded its earnings before pastime, taxes, depreciation and amortization ( EBITDA ) by more than five times. [ 62 ] however, the club claimed that none of its own money had been put towards the refund, raising questions as to how the Glazer syndicate had raised the funds ; suggested methods include the sale of a minority impale in the golf club to a third party, the sale of some or all of the family ‘s other businesses, and – the most likely option – the refinance of the PIKs with another loanword at a lower concern rate. [ 63 ]
Read more: EFL Trophy – Wikipedia
loss Knights takeover plans [edit ]
An anti-Glazer gummed label on a lamppost in Strangeways, Manchester A fan campaign known as “ Love United Hate Glazer ” was formed following the family ‘s bid to take over the clubhouse. The campaign involved the spread of the motto and the acronym “ LUHG ” around versatile locations via stickers and graffito. A count of banners have besides been displayed in the stands at Old Trafford. [ 64 ] Despite its restructure, the announcement about the club ‘s debt prompted blatant protests from Manchester United fans on the weekend of 23 January 2010, both at Old Trafford and at the club ‘s Carrington train facility. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] A protest was organised by the club ‘s supporters groups, following up on the “ Love United Hate Glazer ” campaign that had existed since 2005, and encouraging match-going fans to wear green and aureate, the color of Manchester United ‘s harbinger club, Newton Heath. [ 67 ] A few days late, on 30 January, reports emerged that the Manchester United Supporters ‘ Trust had held meetings with a group of affluent fans with a horizon to buying out the Glazers ‘ controlling pastime in the baseball club. The group then met with Keith Harris, a Manchester United winnow and the president of investment bank Seymour Pierce, to broker a takeover. [ 68 ] On 2 March 2010, further reports emerged that the group – dubbed the “ loss Knights ” – had met again to discuss the possibility of a billion-pound takeover of the baseball club. Those present at the meet included investment bank Goldman Sachs ‘ headman economist and erstwhile Manchester United film director Jim O’Neill and lawyer Mark Rawlinson, a partner at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, vitamin a well as Duncan Drasdo, the chief executive of the Manchester United Supporters ‘ Trust, and Keith Harris, Executive Chairman of Seymour Pierce. The initial finish of the group was to increase the Supporters ‘ Trust ‘s membership to at least 100,000, to demonstrate the fans ‘ documentation for a variety in ownership. To better promote themselves, the Trust enlisted the services of Blue State Digital, the Internet scheme firm that worked on Barack Obama ‘s 2008 presidential election campaign. [ 69 ] late that day, Manchester United announced that their crying debt for the final examination three months of 2009 totalled £507.5 million, a decrease of £30.6 million compared to the lapp period in 2008. They besides reported pre-tax profits of £6.9 million, an increase of £9.6 million after making a loss of £2.7 million the former year. [ 70 ] This announcement was accompanied by a affirmation from the Glazers ‘ spokesperson that the cabaret was not for sale, [ 69 ] american samoa well as public support from David Gill, who claimed that the Glazers were “ running the golf club the right manner ”. [ 71 ] meanwhile, membership of the Manchester United Supporters ‘ Trust passed the 100,000 target on 3 March, before exceeding 125,000 a workweek late. [ 72 ] The green-and-gold scarf joint political campaign besides grew, with large portions of the Old Trafford crowd showing the color. Following Manchester United ‘s 4–0 victory over Milan in their Champions League first knockout round connect, former Manchester United actor David Beckham was seen wearing a scarf that had been thrown onto the pitch ; however, he belated said that he was merely showing his support for Manchester United, and that the ply of the club is “ not [ his ] business ”. [ 73 ] It was besides claimed that United director Alex Ferguson would be prepared to invest his own money in the Red Knights ‘ bid, but he dismissed these reports as “ absolute rubbish ”. [ 74 ] Given the total of debt on Manchester United ‘s books at the time, some analysts estimated in 2010 that any coup d’etat bid would have had to total more than £2 billion, of which around £1.6 billion would be needed to match the Glazers ‘ valuation of the clubhouse – double what they paid for the baseball club in 2005. [ 75 ] however, the Red Knights publicly stated that they would lone pay “ a bonny price ” when their coup d’etat wish ultimately came. [ 76 ] On 11 March 2010, the Red Knights appointed Nomura Securities Co. as their advisers for their takeover command. Nomura previously advised the Manchester United circuit board before the Glazers ‘ invite to buy the club. [ 77 ] The Red Knights late admitted that they would not make a bid for the clubhouse before the end of the 2009–10 season, [ 78 ] but it was believed that their preferable bid option would have involved retaining the £500 million bond issued by the Glazers. Two-thirds of a far £700 million would be provided by 30–40 affluent Manchester United fans, with the remainder provided by fund-raise from ordinary fans. Once the club was secured, shares would then be offered to fans, allowing them to take ownership of the cabaret. [ 79 ] Despite these plans, the Red Knights put their coup d’etat offer “ on deem ” in June 2010, citing “ inflate evaluation aspirations ” in the media as the reason. [ 80 ] Having already stated that they would lone pay a “ sensible ” sum for the golf club, the group was thought to have baulked at the hypnotism that the Glazers ‘ valuation of the clubhouse was significantly higher than the measure they were willing to pay. [ 81 ]
NYSE number and shareholders [edit ]
In 2011, rumours surfaced that the Glazers intended to list a number of shares in Manchester United on an asian market such as Hong Kong [ 82 ] or Singapore, [ 83 ] in an attack to raise a potential £400–600 million. The Singapore flotation looked to be gaining grip in August 2011, when it emerged that the club had applied to list its shares on the Singapore Exchange ; [ 84 ] approval for the number was given in September 2011. [ 85 ] In June 2012, after several months with no far developments on the Singapore front man, respective sources reported that the clubhouse was considering moving its share issue to the United States, [ 86 ] and in July 2012, an application was made for the club to sell shares on the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE ), with a target of raising $ 100 million ( £64 million ). [ 87 ] More details of the sale were released at the end of July, with the clubhouse announcing that they intended to sell 16.7 million shares ( approximately 10 % of the club ) at between $ 16 and $ 20 each, raising up to $ 330 million ( £210 million ). [ 88 ] Shares in the cabaret would be divided into two groups, with Class A shares sold to the public and Class B shares retained by the Glazer syndicate. [ 89 ] ahead of the opening of the IPO, concerns were raised among both investors and Manchester United supporters regarding the details of the plowshare extend. Although the share course catalog specified that the proceeds from the sale would go towards paying down the golf club ‘s debts, it was revealed that a lot of the money would go directly to the Glazers. [ 90 ] Furthermore, holders of course A shares would not be entitled to a regular dividend, and the social organization of the plowshare publish meant that the Glazers ‘ class B shares had 10 times the voting power of class A shares, basically denying a operate concern in the club to anyone but the Glazers. [ 91 ] These issues drove down concern and forced a drop in the share price from the planned $ 16–20 each to $ 14 each, representing a electric potential total sale value of $ 233 million ( £150 million ). [ 92 ] The shares debuted on the NYSE on 10 August 2012, and initially showed a flimsy arise to $ 14.05 per share, but closed the day bet on at the offer price of $ 14 each, valuing the club as a unharmed at $ 2.3 billion, and making it one of the most valuable sports teams in the worldly concern. [ 93 ] One of the biggest investors in the IPO was american english billionaire George Soros, whose investment caller purchased about 3.1 million class A shares ( 1.9 % of the baseball club ), valued at $ 40.7 million ( £25.8 million ) at the time. [ 94 ] Club records announced in November 2012 revealed that gross debt had fallen to £359.7 million after the share sale paid off £62.6 million of bonds. [ 95 ] The golf club ‘s debts were farther remedied in May 2013, after a new loan deal was agreed that would save the club £10 million a year in interest payments on debts now totalling around £307 million. [ 96 ] In March 2014, American investment group Baron Capital purchased 24 % of all of the shares available on the NYSE ( equivalent to 5.8 % of the entire club, but widely misreported as 2.4 % [ 97 ] ). At the completion price on the day of purchase of $ 15.84 per contribution, Baron Capital ‘s full investment was valued at $ 151 million ( £90 million ). [ 98 ] In September 2014, Baron Capital raised its stake in the baseball club to 9.2 % of the entire club ( equivalent to 37.8 % of all shares available on the NYSE. ) [ 99 ] Malcolm Glazer died on 28 May 2014 at the long time of 85. His death was seen as improbable to result in any meaning changes to the operation of the club. [ 100 ] From 2016, the Glazers paid themselves annual dividends from the club, at over £20 million every year from 2016 to 2020. In that lapp period, the clubhouse ‘s debt repayments “ all but ceased ”, described The Daily Telegraph, while sake payments continued. While paying dividends was coarse in business, Manchester United were the sole Premier League club to “ pay regular dividends of any kind ”, reported The Daily Telegraph in May 2021. [ 101 ]
european Super League [edit ]
In April 2021, Joel Glazer played a major function in controversial plans to have Manchester United compete in a european Super League. Plans were announced on 18 April and were unpopular with fans. Following the withdrawal of Manchester United from the competition three days late ascribable to heavy backfire from fans, government, and many football players, managers and pundits [ 102 ] protests from fans continued. On 22 April, a group of around 20 protesters invaded the club ‘s train establish to stage a protest against the Glazers ‘ possession. [ 103 ] Two days late, more than 2,000 attended a second base protest outside Old Trafford to advocate for the 50+1 rule seen in german football. [ 104 ] [ 105 ] [ 106 ] Joel Glazer belated apologised to the team ‘s fans, saying “ [ he ] got it improper ”, [ 107 ] but fans told a team administrator they were “ disgusted, embarrassed and angry ” with his actions. [ 108 ] Ahead of a league game against Liverpool on 2 May, a second gear protest outside Old Trafford took stead, adenine well as a smaller protest outside the Lowry Hotel. The Old Trafford protest this time saw over 10,000 people in attendance ; around a hundred protesters gained access to the deliver. As a resultant role of the protests, a delayed beginning was required for the game as players and match officials were unable to get to the stadium by the original 16:30 beginning time. After a reappraisal, the game was postponed. [ 109 ] [ 110 ] It was the first time a Premier League match had been postponed because of athletic supporter protests in the competition ‘s history. [ 111 ] The protest gained significant news coverage. [ 112 ] [ 113 ] Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, and early Manchester United captains Gary Neville and Roy Keane, who were all providing punditry for Sky Sports ahead of the game, expressed confirm for the cause of the protesters. [ 114 ]
See besides [edit ]
References [edit ]
- Bibliography
- Notes