Glazer family scores with high dividends at Manchester United

The club reported a £9.5 million rise in employee expenses to £58.9 million in the first quarter of its financial year after a number of players signed lucrative new contracts.

It lost £7.4 million in the transfer market after several summer signings including a £36 million deal for the 19-year-old Monaco striker Anthony Martial reports The Times 

Revenues rose 39.3 per cent to £123.6 million in the three months to September 30 — a club record — thanks to extra income on matchdays and from television rights for a Capital One Cup tie with Ipswich and Champions League games. The club failed to qualify for European football’s premier club competition last year.

Manchester United expects annual revenues of between £500 million and £510 million, which if achieved would be the highest ever reported by an English football club.

Its full-year results revealed the New York-listed club would begin paying a dividend of 4.5 cents a share, netting the Glazer family, who own 83 per cent of the club, about £15 million a year.

Manchester United floated in 2012, with the Glazer family moving its registered address from Sir Matt Busby Way to the Cayman Islands. The family bought the club in 2005 in a contentious, debt-heavy deal. Malcolm Glazer, the billionaire who led the buyout, died last year. His six children control the club.

The team are fourth in the Premier League and top their group in the Champions League. Shares gained just under 1p to 19p.

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