Manchester United borrow extra £93m at higher rate, adding £10m a year to debt burden

Manchester United face significantly higher annual debt repayments after refinancing a $425m bond by borrowing $550m at a steeper interest rate, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The new agreement carries an interest rate of 5.36 per cent, compared with 3.79 per cent on the previous bond, which had been due to expire in 2027. The shift in rate, combined with the additional $125m (£93m) borrowed, could cost the club approximately £10m more per year in interest payments.

Under the terms of the deal, United are permitted to use the $550m loan both to repay the original $425m obligation and for general corporate purposes in the running of the club.

The refinancing is the latest chapter in a long-running debt story rooted in the Glazer family’s leveraged buyout of the club in 2005, when the American ownership group borrowed against United’s assets to fund the takeover. The club has continued restructuring that inherited debt in the two decades since.

United’s total financial obligations — spanning debts, a revolving credit facility, and outstanding transfer fees owed to other clubs — now exceed £1bn, underlining the scale of the financial commitments that sit alongside the club’s on-pitch ambitions under co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who acquired a 27.7 per cent stake in the club in early 2024 and has since moved to cut costs across the organisation.