A hedge fund headed by one of the financiers who failed to buy Manchester United four years ago is betting against the club’s New York-listed shares. Marshall Wace, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, stands to reap a profit worth millions of pounds if Manchester United continues to perform as poorly on the stock market as it is doing at its Old Trafford home.
Paul Marshall, one of the founders of Marshall Wace, was a member of the Red Knights consortium which in 2010 launched a campaign to persuade Manchester United’s owners to sell the club.
A hedge fund headed by one of the financiers who failed to buy Manchester United four years ago is betting against the club’s New York-listed shares. Marshall Wace, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, stands to reap a profit worth millions of pounds if Manchester United continues to perform as poorly on the stock market as it is doing at its Old Trafford home.
Paul Marshall, one of the founders of Marshall Wace, was a member of the Red Knights consortium which in 2010 launched a campaign to persuade Manchester United’s owners to sell the club.
The American Glazer family refused to engage with the Red Knights, who were led by Jim O’Neill, the former chief economist at Goldman Sachs. In August 2012, the Glazers floated the club on the New York Stock Exchange.
The size of Marshall Wace’s short position in Manchester United’s shares is unclear. However, there is speculation that Marshall Wace had placed a ‘not immaterial’ bet on a further decline in the club’s shares, which have fallen nearly 14 per cent during the last 12 months.
Odey Asset Management, the hedge fund led by Crispin Odey, a prominent City financier, was disclosed in December as holding a short position worth approximately $5m.
Last week, it emerged that Manchester United had been relegated from the leading trio of the world’s wealthiest football clubs after being overtaken by Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The annual list compiled by the accountancy firm Deloitte revealed that the English club had slipped into fourth place with annual revenues of £347.7m.
That figure will slide further next year if Manchester United fail to finish in the top four of this season’s Premier League. On Monday, the club’s shares were trading down roughly 1.6% at $14.78, valuing it at just under $2.5bn.