Football Club Share History
Football clubs, or soccer teams to our friends in the US, were first listed in the UK in the 1990s. Among the more prestigious football clubs to be publicly floated on the stock market include Manchester United Football Club, Chelsea FC, Leeds United FC and Liverpool FC.
In the early 1990’s when clubs were first floated, investors took to the idea and football club share prices rocketed. Unfortunately, most investors who bought shares in this period would have lost out.
Aston Villa for example launched in 1997 at £11 per share. Share prices soared to £11.75 but soon tumbled to just 102.5 pence. The reasons for this were straightforward: Villa were failing to reward their football club share holders as well as the players.
Elsewhere, Leeds United, after a dream performance in the Champions League of 1999-2000, spent millions of pounds bolstering their team for the next season, buying in talent such as Rio Ferdinand to add to their team of up-and-coming stars, which included Alan Smith. However, when success on the pitch failed to materialise the following season, alongside BSkyB cutting the amount they were set to pay for television rights, Leeds fell into a well-publicised case of near bankruptcy.
Yet, for every tale of failure there is one of success. Becoming a plc means anyone can buy a football share, including Russian billionaire’s.
The takeover of Chelsea Village, who own Chelsea Football Club, by Roman Abramovich was the biggest takeover in British football history. Abramovich bought the club in a deal worth £140 million pounds ($233 million USD). The Russian businessman’s continued investment has taken Chelsea from UEFA Cup contenders to Premiership and League Cup champions, bringing delight to their supporters and football share holders alike.
The latest development in football club takeovers is the case of US tycoon Malcolm Glazer taking over Manchester United FC. Unfortunately, Glazer’s takeover has been met with much hostility from loyal fans and shareholders, who view the US businessman in a parasitic light. Reasons for this primarily revolve around Glazer’s transferral of debt to Manchester United, which will ultimately be consolidated by increased ticket prices paid for by the football club share holders and fans. Glazer is certainly no Abramovich in terms of spending power, and could be limited when it comes to developing the team itself.
Football shares in general are not what that once were. Amid a flurry of investigations, scandals and hostile takeovers, the time to invest in football is when everyone else’s eye is off the ball.
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