Manchester United trims £87m off its debt

By GARETH MACKIE
Published on 15/11/2012 00:00

Manchester United has trimmed its debt pile by 18 per cent and moved into the black following this summer’s flotation in New York.

The club also revealed that the nine football matches staged at Old Trafford during the London Olympics helped boost its matchday revenues by 13.3 per cent to £19.6 million in the three months to 30 September. Total debt dropped to £359.7m by the end of the quarter, down from £436.9m at 30 June, as the controlling Glazer family used some of the flotation proceeds to reduce its borrowings. A £26.5m tax credit helped deliver a profit from continuing operations of £20.5m, compared with a £5m loss a year ago.

Ten new sponsorship deals were secured during the quarter, including a $559m (£352m) agreement with General Motors that will see its Chevrolet brand appear on the team’s shirts for seven years from 2014.

Higher product sales helped lift total revenues by 3.4 per cent to £76.3m, but broadcasting revenues plunged 37.4 per cent to £13.7m as fewer live matches were broadcast compared with last year.