United’s shares dip on Ferguson exit
THE shockwaves over the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson after 26 years at the helm of Manchester United spread to Wall Street.
Shares in the club – which have been rising steadily in recent months as a result of the group’s commercial success – fell back at one stage by as much as 4.5% as investors took fright.
The club said in its prospectus ahead of its stock market flotation in New York last year that its business was dependent on its on-the-field success.
“Any successor to our current manager may not be as successful as our current manager,” it warned. The shares eventually closed down 1.8%.
Since the flotation in August 2012, Manchester United shares have risen 34%.
A measure of how much Manchester United and football as a business has changed during the Ferguson era was provided by Deloitte’s Manchester-based Sports Business Group.
Partner Dan Jones said that since 1992/93 to 2011/12 Manchester United revenues have grown on average by 14%, rocketing from £25.2m to £320.3m.
He said: “Financially, the last 26 years has coincided with a wider revolution in English football with massive investment in the game and the growth of the Premier League, particularly driven by domestic and international broadcast deals.
“During this time the on-pitch accomplishments have underpinned the commercial success of the club and led to increases across all revenue streams and the establishment of United as one of, if not the, biggest brands in world football.”
Everton manager David Moyes, 50, will take the reins at Old Trafford on July 1. Like Ferguson Moyes is a former player and hails from Glasgow.
