United shining bright on the stock market

Manchester United were yesterday held up as a shining example of how to succeed in the modern business era after becoming the only one of 18 football clubs on the stock market to improve their share price since April.

While the majority of clubs floated have suffered a significant drop in value, United have increased from 644p to 667.5 since the start of the financial year - an indication of their consistent success both on and off the pitch.

"There is no doubt they are the biggest and the best run and that is reflected in their share price," revealed top city analyst William Davies of Stockbrokers Albert E Sharp yesterday.

"They are head and shoulders above all the other clubs in terms of their size and their supporter base and how much they are prepared to invest in their products.

"If somebody came to us and asked us which football club to invest in, they really are the only one which represents good value and a virtually guaranteed return."

Davies predicts the inception of pay-per-view television will strengthen United's value and cites Italy as a perfect example of how the market could develop.

"In Italy they already have pay-per-view and just about all of the revenue goes to Inter Milan and I am sure if it was introduced here, United would claim most of the market," stressed Davies.

"If you do not fill your ground then pay-per-view is not going to add much to your revenue and there are still quite a few clubs who are in that situation.

"I can see clubs like United, Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool benefiting because they consistently fill grounds but other clubs may not profit to the same extent."

Davies added: "All the other clubs have dropped in price because share prices got rounded up a bit too much at the beginning of the year and there is also less interest in the stock market during the summer.

"The expectations of the revenue coming in and pay-per-view were too high and now you are seeing a levelling out."