Debt to fall below £400m

Manchester United are expected to confirm on Wednesday that the club’s debt has fallen below £400m for the first time since the leveraged takeover by the Glazer family in May 2005.

United will announce its figures for the first quarter of the financial year on Wednesday lunchtime and the gross debt, which stood at £436.5m in accounts posted for the year ending June 30, 2012, is due to have been reduced with the proceeds of July’s partial flotation on the New York Stock Exchange, which raised £68m.

Wednesday’s figures, which cover July, August and September of this year, are also set to reflect recently-struck sponsorship agreements with Bwin, Toshiba Medical Systems, Yanmar, Fuji TV, Santander, Shinsei Bank and MBNA.

Player wages are expected to show an increase, however, as a result of the summer acquisitions of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa.

The Glazers, United’s Florida-based owners, borrowed £515m to complete their £790m takeover of the club seven years ago and have since re-financed the debt through a bond issue and the Initial Public Offering (IPO) in New York.

Meanwhile, reports in Australia have suggested that the New South Wales State Government is prepared to fund a £2m offer to lure to United to Sydney for a pre-season game at the ANZ Stadium next July.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/9676599/Manchester-United-debt-to-fall-below-400m-for-first-time-since-Glazer-family-takeover-in-2005.html