Man Utd shares up after Europa League victory

LONDON: Shares in Manchester United Plc rose as the club’s Europa League final victory against AFC Ajax in Stockholm guaranteed a place in Europe’s elite Champions League next season. The Dutch club dropped the most in a year in early Amsterdam trading yesterday.

Television revenue from qualification alone is expected to be around US$40mil to US$50mil, and teams in the league will also enjoy increased leverage with sponsors, analysts had said ahead of the fixture.

Champions League qualification should boost investors’ short-term confidence in Manchester United, with the team’s relatively poor performance and rising wage costs having weighed on the stock so far this year, Gabelli’s John Tinker said by phone.

United’s shares closed up 2.7% in New York on Wednesday, as the club led 2-0 with around 35 minutes still to play. Ajax’s shares fell as much as 7% as European markets opened the next morning. The stock had jumped 6% following the club’s win over France’s Olympique Lyonnais in the Europa League semi-final on May 11.

Manchester United signed a US$750mil 10-year shirt sponsorship agreement with Adidas in 2014. However, the contract includes a clause that if the team does not qualify for the Champions League for two consecutive seasons, annual sponsorship payments will decrease by 30%, chief financial officer Cliff Baty said in November.

Wednesday’s match was United’s last chance to avoid triggering that clause as the team failed to qualify from domestic competition, finishing sixth in the English Premier League. – Bloomberg