Manchester United sale: Prospective buyers to attend presentations at Old Trafford

 

Only two of the bids for Manchester United have been made public

All potential new Manchester United owners and major investors have been invited to presentations at Old Trafford by senior club staff over the next two weeks.

They include representatives of Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The pair are regarded as the two leading candidates to buy the Premier League club should the Glazer family eventually decide to relinquish control.

Part of the presentations will revolve around how the club could generate more income.

Ratcliffe's camp will visit at the end of next week, although it is yet to be confirmed whether the 70-year-old British billionaire will attend. Sheikh Jassim's delegation will also receive their presentation next week.

It is not known whether there have been additional bids to buy the club but other organisations have expressed an interest in taking a stake in United.

Others, including the Elliott Group, have expressed a willingness to help with funding, either for external bidders or if the Glazer family decide to keep hold of United.

Once the presentations have taken place, the Raine Group, which is handling the sale, is likely to ask for revised bids, which to this point have only been regarded as indicative.

The club's data room, which would give up-to-date information around player contracts and sponsorship deals, is still to be fully opened to prospective buyers.

While the soft deadline for submitting bids was almost three weeks ago, the whole process could now speed up from this point, although getting a deal done by the end of the month, which had been the initial intention, is thought to be unlikely.

There is still uncertainty around the Glazer family's intentions amid a view that United co-chairmen Joel and Avram would prefer to keep some part of the club but their four siblings and fellow directors do not.