Glazer on brink of United buy-out

Malcolm Glazer was on the brink of being able to take Manchester United off the UK Stock Market following sustained selling of the club’s shares this morning.

The American business tycoon ended trading on Friday with a 74.81% stake in the Old Trafford outfit, agonisingly short of the 75% he required to delist the club.

Although there was no formal announcement that Glazer had gone over the 75% figure, one sizeable chunk of 1.2million shares changed hands within 90 minutes of the Stock Exchange opening, enough to take the 78-year-old past the crucial figure if he was the man buying.

Supporters are vowing to continue their protests against Glazer and have called for a boycott of club merchandise.

However, their most immediate aim was to prevent Glazer reaching the 90% mark that would force a compulsory purchase of the remaining shares, although even that hope looked to be a forlorn one.