Why are many United supporters eager for the Glazer family to sell up? You only need to look at the debt amassed, the interest paid out, the dividends disbursed and the money spent in the transfer market to find the answers to that question.
United’s most recent set of accounts dated up until the
third quarter of 2022-23 put the club’s gross debt at £725m. That is the highest it has been since 2010
when the Glazers carried out a major restructuring of the club’s finances in
order to bring the cost of their borrowing under control, and is up from £636m
at the end of the 2021-22 season. That
increase is largely due to United borrowing another £100m last season as a
drawdown from their revolving credit facility.
As the majority of United’s debt is denominated in U.S.
dollars, fluctuations in the exchange rate also affect how it is reported when
converted to British pounds sterling.
The dollar’s strength against the pound means United’s $650m
principal debt was worth £521m at the end of March compared to £489m at the
same time last year, even though the actual amount of money borrowed was
unchanged.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, United had healthy cash
reserves of £308m. That mountain of cash quickly became a molehill, falling to
£52m as the club began to grapple with the realities of operating under
lockdown and playing behind closed doors.
United were disproportionately affected by the closure of stadiums due
to Old Trafford’s size, meaning larger losses of matchday revenue than
their Premier League rivals.
United’s interest payments have remained at a relatively
consistent level since 2016, generally costing around £20m each season. However, 2022-23’s third-quarter results
reported £25.1m paid out in interest — the most in eight years, with still
another quarter to go. When the full-year accounts arrive, United will have
paid more in interest last season than in any since the 2014-15 campaign.
In total, the club have paid around £747m in interest
payments since the 2005 takeover. That amount will keep climbing for as long as
United owe money — all because the ownership needed to borrow to buy the club
in the first place.
United began regularly paying out dividends seven years ago
and have steadily rewarded shareholders with an average payment of £22m each
season — typically with one instalment in January, then another in June. Including a one-off £10m payment at the turn
of the last decade, the club have paid out a total of £166m in dividends since
the 2005 takeover. The vast majority of this money is paid to the Glazer family
themselves — given their 69 per cent shareholding in the club, with the other
31 per cent held by multiple other stakeholders.
Value for money?
The Glazers have overseen a total outlay of £2.1bn on
players since their takeover, of which £1.7bn has come over the past decade —
enough to rival the Premier League’s other big spenders Manchester City and Chelsea. Yet whereas City and Chelsea have won eight
Premier League titles between them over the past 10 seasons, United have not
been crowned champions once. That,
perhaps more than anything else, calls into question the Glazers’ stewardship
of the club.
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