Hedge fund ‘bets against United’

A HEDGE fund led by one of the men who failed to buy Manchester United four years ago is betting against the club’s New York-listed shares, according to Sky News.
 
The broadcaster said that Marshall Wace stands to make large profits if Manchester United continues to perform  poorly on the New York stock market.

The club’s run of poor form has hit its share price which has fallen from $18 in May when Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement to $14.78. The fall has wiped $654m off the market value which now stands at $2.42bn.

Paul Marshall, one of the founders of Marshall Wace, was a member of the Red Knights consortium which was led by Jim O’Neill, the former chief economist at Goldman Sachs.

Sky said the size of Marshall Wace’s short position in Manchester United’s shares was unclear, and a spokesman for the hedge fund declined to comment. It reported that insiders said Marshall Wace had placed a “not immaterial” bet on a further decline in the club’s shares.