‘I wouldn’t be happy about that’ – Stefan Borson drops Man United bomb

Manchester United’s shareholders could be unhappy the club paid out up to £40million during the sale process to Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

That is the view of former Man City financial advisor Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the deal delivered for the Glazers rather than Man United despite the club paying the consultancy fees.

It comes as the Premier League giants reported a £71.4million net loss for the first three months of 2024, potentially putting them at risk of breaching the profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

The figures show they spent £40million in exceptional costs related to Ratcliffe buying his 27.7-per-cent stake in the club in February this year.

Man United paid Raine Group around £30million after the Glazers appointed the New York-based investment banking firm to help them find a buyer.

Man United shareholders could be unhappy after sale fees revealed

Borson admitted he would expect the Glazers to reimburse Man United for some of those fees after a full sale of the club wasn’t completed.

He told Football Insider: “Man United had in the year probably somewhere in the order of £50million of exceptional costs.

“That includes the incredible £40million that they seem to have paid on behalf of the Glazers for the strategic review sale process, which ultimately only generated for the club itself what will be a total of $300million (£231million) when the final instalment is paid by Ratcliffe towards the end of the year.

“On a company fundraiser of more than £230million, they paid about £40million of fees to Raine Group and other advisors.

“Most of that is really on behalf of the Glazers. It is surprising that the company would have to pay those fees itself and the Glazers would effectively hitch a free ride on the back of the company paying those fees.

“It’s in a scenario where the company has so far only raised about £170million and paid out £40million.

“I was a small shareholder up until recently, I wouldn’t be happy about that.

“It’s not untypical, but usually what the company would end up doing is, where they ended up effectively subsidising a principle shareholder’s process, they would expect the principle shareholder to indemnify the company for at least some of those fees.

“The process in the end didn’t deliver a sale of all the company’s shares. It delivered very specifically a sale for the Glazers.”

In other news, Man United’s Scott McTominay plan revealed.

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