‘Red Knights raise £1.5bn from 60 investors for United bid’
THE Red Knights’ campaign to buy Manchester United has received pledges of financial backing worth £1.5bn from 60 mega-rich investors, reports said today.
Despite United chief executive David Gill this week dismissing the Red Knights’ chance of success because the club’s owners, the unpopular Glazer family don’t want to sell, the consortium is pushing ahead with its plans to raise finance.
The leading figures in the Red Knights group are: Stockport-born Jim O’Neill, head of economic research at investment bank Goldman Sachs, a lifelong fan and former non-executive director; Mark Rawlinson, a corporate partner at City law firm Freshfield and hedge fund founder Paul Marshall.
One of the group told the Times newspaper: “We thought we had 40 investors – well it’s already 60.”
Although the Florida-based Glazers say the asset is not for sale, everyone has a price, and the Red Knights could succeed if the offer is too good to refuse.
Opposition to the Glazers has soared since the turn of the year when the family raised a £502m bond to refinance the club’s bank debt.
A prospectus to the issue revealed that the Glazers had borrowed millions of pounds from the club in loans and charged the business for management and consultancy fees.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust, which is leading the rebellion against the Glazers, says membership is heading towards 100,000.
