Woolnough buys Manchester United debt

M&G fixed income stalwart Richard Woolnough has bought into debt issued by football giant Manchester United.

While Woolnough avoided the "overpriced" £500m issue at launch in January, the manager says he added a small position in his £2.13bn M&G Optimal Income fund following a sell-off last month. Manchester United sterling debt began trading on 22 January at a spread of 569bp over gilts, narrowing to about 550bp during late March and early April. However, the global sell-off in risk assets drove the debt to a spread of about 770bp in May. It is currently trading at about 716bp over gilts. The high-yield debt, which Woolnough says now looks "attractively valued", offers investors a fixed ann...