17 Sep 2010Manchester United owners 'buy back part of loan'

Football Clubs News | Football Finance News

Manchester United's unpopular owners bought back a fraction of the Old Trafford side's mammoth loan two years ago in the immediate aftermath of the global economic crisis, a report has claimed.

According to Bloomberg, the Glazer family purchased roughly 20 per cent of the English Premier League football club's arrears for £12.6 million, after the cost of the payment-in-kind (PIK) loan fell following the financial crash.

"There's still pressure on them because 16.25 per cent [in interest] is not an insignificant coupon," said analyst Jonathan Moore. "They still need to pay down the PIK because the longer they leave it out there, the more damage is being done."

Schechter & Co chief executive Stephen Schechter claimed that Manchester United are most likely paying "lip service" to their creditors and questioned whether the Glazers are serious about deleveraging.

Investment banker and anti-Glazer campaigner Andy Green asserted on his blog that the family took £10 million out of the club in December 2008, around the time the PIK transaction was made.

Written by Paul Roberts

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