Manchester United finances: Plunge in value of pound post-Brexit sees club’s debt hit record levels
Manchester United blamed the post-Brexit weak pound for a large increase in the club's debt, revealed in the club's second quarter accounts.
The richest club in the world's net debt increased by £87.2m last year – just shy of the £89m the club paid for midfielder Paul Pogba in the summer – to £409.3m by the end of 2016.
Sterling's exchange rate fell from from $1.47 at the end of 2015 to $1.22 a year later, with the sharpest falls triggered by the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
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United were named as the club with the highest net debt in the world in a Uefa report published last month, which said the Premier League's club increasing debt is at odds with a continent-wide move towards profitability in the wake of the organisation's financial fair play rules.
Despite mixed results on the pitch — United are currently sixth in the Premier League — the club remain a commercial behemoth and announced record quarterly revenues.
The league's new £8bn TV deal helped boost revenues by 18 per cent to £157.9m for the quarter ending 31 December 2016, compared to £133.8m a year ago.
Broadcasting revenue rose by 40.8 per cent to £52.5m while match day revenue increased 27 per cent to £38.6m thanks to an increase in home games in the quarter.
Yet despite rising by just 1.1 per cent, the club's commercial arm remains its strongest source of income with revenues of £66.8m.
"The robustness of our business model continues to be reflected in our strong quarterly financial results and we remain on track to deliver record revenues for the year," said executive vice chairman Ed Woodward.