Finance guru ‘fascinated’ by Glazer U-turn amid £27m Man United reveal – ‘this is a first’
The Glazers’ decision to not pay their usual biannual dividend to Man United shareholders is likely a PR exercise.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Red Devils’ most recent set of quarterly results.
United recorded a loss of £26.5million for the first quarter of 2022, as detailed by the figures released last Thursday (8 December).
It was also revealed that the owners would not pay a dividend to shareholders for the first time since 2016.
United typically pay shareholders a dividend from previous profits even if the club records a quarterly loss.
The news comes just a few weeks after the Glazer family official invited external investment in the club.
Plumley suspects that the decision to reject a dividend is likely to do with the process of finding a buyer.
“This is fascinating and goes against what we have become accustomed to,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“This is the first time we have seen this in quite a few years. I do think the current state of play with the fans is something they are still quite wary of after the fallout from the Super League.
“Also, the fact they are up for sale probably does play a part here. It’s a positioning exercise as much as anything.
“The optics wouldn’t look great because the board don’t want to be seen to be recommending a dividend payment on a loss of £26m. Keeping the optics good is central to this.
“That said, if quarterly performance picks up further down the line, we might see them revert to type. But I think they have decided not to rock the boat for the time being.“
In other news, Man United offering “huge” Alejandro Garnacho deal amid £50m-plus reveal.