Manchester United has won a breathing space from the takeover threat hanging over it as Mr Malcolm Glazer, the US businessman, backed away from a bid.
The club also announced interim results that were far stronger than analysts had expected.
Mr David Gill, chief executive, said the regulatory pressure following the recent statement by Mr Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team, that he was considering a bid had acted as a brake on the company over the past six weeks.
He said: "A lot of our actions such as player purchases above a certain limit have to be cleared by the Takeover Panel and all our meetings with shareholders have to be policed. Anything you do has to be monitored."
The company said it had spoken to Mr Glazer and the Takeover Panel and decided it was "in the best interests of everyone" to end the offer period.
Turnover in the six months to January 31st fell from £92.6 million (€138.6 million) to £92.4 million partly because the club played a higher number of away games at smaller stadiums than previously. However, profits were boosted by the reduction in wages because of the sale of David Beckham and Juan-Sebastien Veron last summer. Pre-tax profits jumped from £20.3 million to £26.8 million. - (Financial Times Service)
