Manchester United expect to record revenues of between £630m to £640m in the current financial year, their quarterly results published on Tuesday said.
But there is no mention of the club’s potential sale as the saga heads towards 200 days with no sign of a preferred bidder being nominated by the unpopular Glazers.
United, who finished third in the Premier League and won the EFL Cup in the past season, said that broadcast income fell by 20% compared to this time last year but both commercial and matchday revenue were boosted significantly. The predicted record revenue comes off the back of Erik ten Hag's team qualifying for next season's Champions League.
The results up to March 31 showed commercial revenue for three quarters climbed 21.1% to £235.5m and matchday revenue increased 13.5% to £101.1m. And while broadcast revenue fell 20.3% to £144.5m, overall revenue grew by 3.5% to £481.1m.
But of greatest interest is that the club's non-current borrowings remain stagnant at $650m - but owing to the currency exchange rate that figure has climbed from £489.2m at the same stage last year to £521.5m.
United also said its current borrowings, from a revolving credit facility, has almost doubled compared to 12 months previous - rising to £203.7m from £102.3m on March 31 of 2022.
In terms of player trading, the financial results stated: “Amortization for the quarter was £42.9m, an increase of £3.5m, or 8.9%, over the prior year quarter, due to investment in the first team playing squad. The unamortized balance of registrations on 31 March 2023 was £416.7m."
The publication of the results comes after fans gathered outside Old Trafford to protest the club's current owners. Protestors gathered outside the club shop as United launched their home kit for the coming season, forcing the store to temporarily close.
Last November the Glazer siblings announced that they were intending to explore strategic alternatives that included selling the club their father, Malcolm, purchased in 2005 through a leveraged buyout that is now banned by the Premier League.
Since then two interested parties, fronted by Britain's second richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim al Thani, have submitted multi-billion bids to a merchant bank overseeing the process. But they have been kept waiting by the Glazers' indecision and impatience is growing among both groups and fans.
While the financial results make no mention of the club’s future ownership, it did reference a fan event in Singapore that had “activations from 16 global partners” and a new record of 275 official supporters clubs being set across 94 countries.
United said there have been record sales of global memberships, with the 360,000 currently signed up making it "the largest paid membership program in world sport" and their season ticket waiting list presently stands at 146,000.
