The controversy surrounding the Glazer family's stewardship of Manchester United gathers apace amid scenes of insurrection at Old Trafford. This, of course, is far more than a business story and The Sunday Times lets loose a pair of its business hacks on to the £500 million bond issue which the club successfully completed this week.

Ben Marlow and Dominic Rushe say that:

"Manchester United’s controversial bond issue has cost the Premier League football club £54m, it emerged this weekend.

The sum is more than the club would expect to have to pay to sign one of Europe’s top players.

As part of the £500m funds raised by United last week, the club has been forced to pay £15m in fees and expenses to investment bankers and lawyers.

It has also taken a £39m hit from the unwinding of interest rate hedging arrangements on the debt that has been refinanced by the bond. Although the owners, the Glazer family, have managed to defer payment of some liability, the club is still paying £11m of it upfront."

The pair also expose some problems in the Glazers' other business interests:

"It would appear that Manchester United is not the only part of the Glazers’ business empire under pressure. An investigation by The Sunday Times has revealed that the family’s property business, First Allied, which mostly invests in shopping malls, is sitting on a 500,000 sq ft black hole."