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Post by QPR Report on Apr 22, 2009 13:12:27 GMT
Telegraph Fans complain as Manchester United buck trend by increasing ticket prices Manchester United's owners, the Glazer family, have been accused of 'squeezing supporters until the pips squeak' by fans angry at plans to raise ticket prices by £1 a game at Old Trafford next season. By Mark Ogden Although a number of Premier League rivals, including Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City, have announced freezes or cuts in ticket prices next term, United - whose debts were revealed earlier this month to be approaching £700m - are bucking the trend by raising prices. Sean Bones, vice-chair of Manchester United supporters' trust, said: "It's extremely disappointing, at a time when United supporters are struggling to come to terms with the economic situation, and other football clubs are responding by freezing and even reducing prices, that the Glazers have again decided to hike prices above the rate of inflation. Scholes . . . What they say "It has been said in the past that the owners of the club will squeeze United supporters until the pips squeak, and this is clearly the case. "Earlier in the year, the government gave a 2.5 per cent reduction on the price of VAT on tickets. "The Glazers have absorbed this benefit and added more increases on top." With sell-out crowds at virtually every Premier League game this season, however, United insist that their price increases are merely a case of reflecting the huge demand for tickets at Old Trafford. A United spokesman said: "We are still, on average, turning away nearly 5,000 people per game, and more for bigger games like Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, so we believe it represents good value for money." www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5200545/Fans-complain-as-Manchester-United-buck-trend-by-increasing-ticket-prices.html
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dreamr
Gerry Francis
Posts: 88
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Post by dreamr on Apr 22, 2009 14:55:33 GMT
It looks like it's going to be an interesting couple of years ahead at United. Possibly the way the world of finance is going will help heavily leveraged clubs with very low interest rates and possibly with high inflation to come. The telegraph seem to do good articles (on Man U anyway): www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5130064/Manchester-United-debt-soars-to-700m-despite-record-season.html (Paragraphs I've deleted marked with ...) "Manchester United debt soars to £700m despite record season. If Manchester United's defence was as hard to penetrate as the club's financial structure then Sir Alex Ferguson's team would not be facing elimination from the Champions League next week. By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter Last Updated: 8:59PM BST 09 Apr 2009
... ... In a move that suggests a degree of disdain for supporters who have taken a keen interest in the club's finances since the Glazers took control in 2005, United and the family chose not to comment on results that showed debt with the ultimate parent company had spiralled to £699 million. Instead they were left to draw their own conclusions from a trawl through the occasionally Byzantine structure of England's dominant club. ... ... Look deeper however and the picture that emerges confirms the trends established during the Glazers' relatively short tenure. United remain the pre-eminent money-maker in English football, but profits at the football club level are wiped out by the need to service rising levels of debt. ... When the Glazers bought the club for £828 million in 2005 they borrowed £556 million to help them do it, securing about 70 per cent of that against the club. As of June last year, according to these accounts, that debt stood at £699 million.
The principle reason for the spiralling level of debt – it increased by £33 million compared to 2006-07 – is the structure of the loans. The majority of the debt, £518 million, is bank debt secured against the club and their assets, including Old Trafford and the Carrington training ground.
A further £175 million is in "payment in kind" loans, effectively a form of equity, accruing interest at a penal 14.25 per cent annually. That interest is not paid off but rolled over annually, swelling the PIK loans by £23 million in the last year. ... What will worry supporters and, those in the Government and the Football Association concerned by United's reliance on such a heavily-leverage business model, is that even the bank debt is increasing, by £8 million. Interest is being serviced, but debt is not being reduced. ... The questions concerning supporters last night were what happens if the pre-eminence of recent seasons is threatened. Will the recession impact on the club's ability to sell out Old Trafford and more importantly the 10,000 executive seats that contribute close to half the revenue? Will a significant bid for Cristiano Ronaldo prove irresistible?
And will chief executive David Gill, paid £1.7 million last year for guiding the club between the demands of their Scottish manager and American owners, secure a replacement for shirt sponsor AIG willing to match the £19 million the American insurer presently pays?
The answers will become clear in time, but last night fans were left to reflect on confirmation of the Glazers' legacy to United; a burden of debt that leaves even the most commercially astute and successful of clubs running to keep up."
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Post by Zamoraaaah on Apr 22, 2009 15:01:33 GMT
It would appear that anyone with a great credit rating can buy a football club. Wish I'd never knocked Cellnet back in the day...
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