One of Manchester United’s largest shareholders on the New York Stock Exchange has cut their stake in the club, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed.
Lindsell Train, the investment firm which also owns shares in Celtic and Juventus, sold off around £12.5m worth of shares at the back end of 2025, equating to around 18 per cent of its total stake.
It is the fourth time in the last two years that Lindsell has slashed its equity in Manchester United PLC, although they still own more of the club’s A shares than anyone besides Sir Jim Ratcliffe and another investment firm, Ariel Investments.
The share price at the time of the sale was around $16. That is roughly the same as the price when the club was first listed in New York in 2012.
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As profits have dried up at the club, so too have dividends. Shareholders last received a payout in 2022, albeit a very modest one at about nine cents per share.
The business case for owning a stake in the club with minimal voting rights isn’t clear, though many football finance experts believe shareholders are waiting for a full takeover which could see them bought out at least double the current market price.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe paid twice as much as the current share price
Ratcliffe’s part-takeover of 2024 valued United shares at $33, with several institutional shareholders selling at that price, as well as the Ineos billionaire acquiring B shares from the Glazer family.
Those B shares carry significantly higher voting rights, hence the much higher price.
As of August 2025, the Glazers have the right to sell Ratcliffe shares from underneath them at a price of $33 or more.
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Given that they are understood to value the club at about £6bn, the family is unlikely to entertain any offers unless there is a significant premium on top of that $33.
But if an investor wanted to buy the whole club for, say, $45 per share, the consensus among experts is that it would be too good to turn down. For institutional and retail shareholders like Lindsell, that would represent an exceptional return.
However, that looks a remote prospect as things stand.
What power do Man United’s NYSE shareholders have?
Day to day, Lindsell Train, Ariel Investments or any of the other stock market shareholders don’t exercise any power at Old Trafford.
However, the bigger institutional shareholders do wield a degree of political influence behind the scenes at United and the club has a fiduciary duty to protect their interests, as well as those of the Glazers and Ratcliffe.
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The stock market shareholders also played a role in the Ineos part-takeover too. Without the various shareholders who tendered their Class A shares, the investment would not have gone through.
United’s share price did not react in any meaningful way to Ruben Amorim’s departure.
In recent years, the ticker has risen significantly only when rumours of a potential full or part takeover have emerged, as well as in reaction to structural changes in football like the proposed European Super League.
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