Manchester United owners delay plans to raise £600 million

The Glazer family’s plans to raise 600 million pounds from a partial flotation of Manchester United on the Singapore Stock Exchange could be delayed until midway through next year because of the continuing volatility of global financial markets.

Although the Glazers were given the green light by the SSE to launch the sale of up to 30 per cent of their United stakeholding with an Initial Public Offering in August, the float was placed on hold in September with market conditions not deemed to be favourable because of the financial crisis in the Eurozone and a lack of major investors signing up to the listing.

United’s group stage exit from the Champions League, which has left the club in the less lucrative Europa League, is also understood to be an issue which could deter investors, with the surprise inability to reach the knockout stages highlighting the fine line between success and failure on the pitch, The Telegraph reports.

United’s American owners had been determined to launch the IPO before the end of 2011, but while market analysts predict that the Singapore market will not be badly affected by economic uncertainties in 2012, the likelihood of the float being initiated early in the new year is understood to be dependent on an upturn in the markets.

The Glazers informed the SSE that some of the proceeds of the flotation will go towards reducing United’s debt, which stand at 433 million pounds.