We'll keeping splashing the cash on stars, vows Gill despite Man United's lacklustre start on New York Stock Exchange
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UPDATED:
08:10 GMT, 11 August 2012
David Gill has promised Manchester United will continue to invest in top-class players despite a disappointing start to the club's bid to raise money in America.
The Glazer family banked 75million from Manchester United’s controversial flotation on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday — but that was up to 30m less than expected.
Avram and Joel Glazer rang the opening bell on Wall Street as 16.6 million shares, equal to 10 per cent of the club, were publicly traded.
However, the opening share price of 9 was lower than the 10-13 initially proposed by the Glazers’ advisers.
At the top end, that would have allowed the American owners and United to split profits of 210m. Instead, the flotation is expected to raise a total of around 150m, with half going to the Glazers.
It gives United an overall market value of 1.5billion, which falls short of the 1.8bn the owners were believed to have quoted Qatar Holdings when they enquired about buying the club last year.
Historic day: David Gill (left) arrives at the New York Stock Exchange where Joel and Avram Glazer rang the opening bell as Manchester United's shares went on sale in a bid to raise more cash for the club
Money matters: United Executives David Gill (right), Joel Glazer (centre right) and Avram Glazer (centre) prepare to ring the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange
Chief executive Gill joined the Glazer
brothers in applauding from a balcony at the New York Stock Exchange as
shares in United were publicly traded for the first time in seven years
while traders wore the team’s red kit.
And Gill believes Manchester United will continue to grow despite a disappointing share price when the club was listed.
'We fully understand and the owners
fully understand that what happens on the pitch is crucial to us and we
will make sure there are sufficient funds to invest in the team going
forward,' said Gill.
He claimed the arrival of the Glazers
and the debt the club subsequently incurred had not hampered the success
Sir Alex Ferguson's men had enjoyed on the pitch. And he pinpointed the
example of their shirt sponsorship deal with Chevrolet as proof that
their growth revenue remained as strong as ever.
How you doing Joel Glazer (left) meets traders who dressed in Manchester United shirts
Nice doing business: Joel (left) and Avram Glazer (right)
'The level of debt that we've had at the club since they've taken over hasn't impacted on what we've done as a team.
'We've won four Premier Leagues, we've been to the Champions League final three times, we've had ongoing success on the pitch.
'We're comfortable with the leverage
we've had and we believe that given the growth opportunity we've got
ahead of us – for example we've signed Chevrolet to a seven-year shirt
sponsorship commencing in 2014, which is over twice what our current
shirt sponsors make – we've got a lot of interesting and good
opportunities to improve our cash flow going forward.'
The lower flotation price comes after
the Glazer family, which also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American
football team, previously failed to garner sufficient support to sell
shares on exchanges in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Taking over: Manchester United put on a big show outside the New York Stock Exchange
Red is the colour: Children watch Manchester United performers outside the New York Stock Exchange
However, United, which claims to have a
global fan base of about 660million and has won a record 19 league
titles, is still one of the world's most valuable sports teams.
Although the listing has been planned
for some time, the Glazer family originally claimed all the proceeds
would go towards United's debt, angering fans.
A successful initial public offering
would reportedly result in investors owning 42% of the shares available
but only carrying voting rights of 1.3%.
Trading under the stock market ticker Manu, shares rose but then pulled back to stand still at the 14 US dollar mark.
Shavaz Dhalla, financial trader at
Spreadex, said: 'After opening positively, possibly caused by smaller
retail investors looking to pick up a token share, the club's share
price slowly began to retrace and drop early gains. Clearly, investors
who are actually looking for a return as well as a shareholder voting
right are steering clear.'
Say what Manchester United shares will go for less than first planned
Issue: Some Man United fans have long disliked the Glazer ownership of the club