Manchester United Supporters' Trust
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Manchester United Supporters' Trust (formerly Shareholders United) is a pressure group many of whose members were shareholding supporters of Manchester United F.C. The group wanted the football club to remain independent. It hopes to be able to buy a significant stake in the club at a future date if the current owners are forced to sell.
The group took the position that fans can demonstrate their commitment to the club by owning shares in it. It maintains that the best interests of the club are served by supporters who, it claims, understand and care about the club more than any business conglomerate. Shareholders United also contended that the cost of going to see matches would be made prohibitively expensive if the club were taken over.
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[edit] Origin
The group was founded in 1998 as 'Shareholders United Against Murdoch', to stop a proposed takeover by Australian-American media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. His bid for control of the club was blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. The group then changed its name simply to Shareholders United, and began to defend United against any other takeover.
[edit] Response to Glazer takeover
In 2004, the American businessman Malcolm Glazer made an attempt to buy the club, but was rebuffed by the PLC board because of the large amount of borrowing his bid would rely on. They felt that he would mortgage the club's future to pay for his bid. Shareholders United, together with IMUSA, organised demonstrations before matches, first before an important league match against Arsenal in an attempt to show the board that supporters were against the takeover, and later before a Champions League match against A.C. Milan, when thousands of supporters marched to demonstrate to Glazer that they would not welcome him if he bought the club. They also encouraged members to form flash mobs, where large groups congregated at shops owned by the club's sponsors to temporarily prevent the shops from trading. The purpose of this was an attempt to warn the sponsors that supporters would boycott their products if they continued their links with the club after a takeover.
When the United board refused to recommend Glazer's initial bid, it was seen as a victory for Shareholders United, but in May 2005 Glazer was able to purchase the 28% of shares owned by John Magnier and JP McManus, and, by 23 May 2005 held around 76.16% of the club's shares, enough shares to de-list United from the stock exchange, making the club privately owned. Later in 2005, Glazer was able to claim over 98% of the club's shares, enough to implement a mandatory buyout of all remaining shares, according to UK Law. Glazer is now the owner of Manchester United. Shareholders United then applied to change its name - mainly due to the fact that there are no more public shares in the club.
[edit] Name change
At a Manchester United supporters' meeting in May 2005, it was announced that Shareholders United would shortly be changing their name to the Manchester United Supporters' Trust and converting to an Industrial and Provident Society, a process that would take some time as a result of stringent checks by the Financial Services Authority and the club objecting to use of the name Manchester United. The name change was completed in mid-January 2006.
The Manchester United Supporters' Trust is independent from Manchester United, and is in no way directly connected with the club or its owners.
