Latest News Blog

Red Football Joint Venture is owned by the Glazer family and secures its debts against the football club.

The accounts, for the year to June 2009, show United's debts passing £700m for the first time.

They also confirm that six of Malcolm Glazer's children were each given loans worth £1.67m from the parent company.

All are directors of Red Football, and such a practice is legal.

However Keith Harris, the head of merchant bank Seymour Pierce who has been involved in four Premier League club takeovers, questioned whether it was sensible.

"You would not expect directors to be borrowing money at a company of United's size," he told the Guardian newspaper.

"And, although it is now allowed legally, it is generally still frowned upon because it does not create a good impression of the directors' governance of the company."