UK Investment Firm Discloses 5.6% Stake in Manchester United

London-based Boldhaven Management has amassed 3.1 million Class A shares of Manchester United. It represents 5.6% of the stock for the Premier League club, according to a Tuesday SEC filing. The transaction makes Boldhaven the second-largest institutional holder of Man United shares after Ariel Investments, whose latest filings show 9.05 million shares as of March 31. Boldhaven was founded in 2017 by Ronald Sofer, who serves as the firm’s chief investment officer, and it bills itself as an alternative investment management firm “defined by fundamental research, a long-term investment horizon and a focus on intrinsic value,” according to its website. Investors are required to file a Schedule 13G or 13D when their stake exceeds 5% of a publicly traded stock. It is unclear how many shares Boldhaven held before its 13G filing. Boldhaven and Man United did not return requests to comment. Ariel inherited the top spot from British investment firm Lindsell Train, which had been the biggest Man United shareholder, including a peak of 11.6 million shares in 2021. The firm has slashed its position since then to a recent 2.8 million shares. American billionaire Leon Cooperman has acquired a chunk of Lindsell’s shares and now owns 2.9 million shares. The Glazer family and Ineos-founder Jim Ratcliffe remain the largest shareholders and control the club through the Class B shares, which have 10 times the voting power of Class A shares. Ratcliffe bought a combo of Class A and B shares in 2024 after the team hired Raine Group to explore sale options in 2022. United’s stock has been largely dead money for its first 13 years since its 2012 IPO, outside of a surge when the Glazer family hired Raine. But shares are up 84% since their April 2025 low. Man United rebounded on the field this past season, finishing third in the EPL standings and qualifying for the lucrative Champions League next season. This followed the disastrous 15th-place finish in the 2024-25 EPL table, just above the relegation line—the prior season’s eighth-place finish was its previous worst result since the Premier League launched in 1992. The English soccer giant posted a nine-month operating profit of $50.5 million (£37.7 million based on current exchange rates), versus a loss of $4.3 million (£3.2 million) during the prior year period. The profit would have been even greater if not for a $22.4 million (£16.7 million) exceptional charge, primarily from the January firing of former men’s first team coach Ruben Amorim and his staff. Manchester United ranked third in Sportico’s April look at the world’s 50 most valuable soccer clubs with a value of $6.47 billion, only behind LaLiga giants Real Madrid ($7.7 billion) and FC Barcelona ($6.65 billion).