Glazers set to sell £137.2m of shares in Manchester United

Manchester United has just announced that the Glazer family have made 9.5 million shares available for purchase.

The shares, which represent approximately 8% of the Glazer family's total ownership, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and will be worth £137.12 million (€160.9 million/$185.8 million). Kevin Glazer and Edward Glazer are listed as the owners of the shares.

United stated that no proceeds would be received from the sale. The offering is expected to close on Friday, subject to customary closing conditions.

Avram Glazer listed five million of his United shares for sale in March. The shares were worth more than £70 million, and United received no proceeds from the sale.

Following the sale of its 8% stake in United, the Glazers will own a combined 69 percent of the club.

United reported a net loss of £92.2 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continued to show in its financial results.

The club's total revenues were £494.1m, compared to £509m in 2019-20 – a year that included three months of the pandemic. The club generated £627.1m in the last full year that was not affected by the health crisis (fiscal 2019).

Matchday revenue was only £7.1m as the club felt the effects of playing 33 home games behind closed doors. This was a significant decrease from the £89.8m earned in the 2020 fiscal year, when the team played 23 home games in front of fans and one home game behind closed doors.

Commercial revenue was £232.2m for the year, a decrease of £46.8 million, or 16.8 percent, year on year. Sponsorship revenue stood at £140.2 million, a decrease of £42.5 million (23.3%) over the previous year, with the club blaming the decline on the Covid-related cancellation of its 2020-21 pre-season tour.

The Glazers were among those who backed the dormant European Super League project. Following the project's demise, executive co-chairman Joel Glazer promised a "new era of dialogue and consultation with fans" and stated that he would pursue discussions for supporters to own some shares in the club.




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