Business

Grosvenor Casinos have Finally Reopened – Here’s What You Need To Know

With nightclubs still waiting to get the go-ahead, guests will relish the chance to return to casinos to continue their nights out, once last orders have been called in most drinking establishments.

The Manc The Manc - 11th June 2021

Following more than four months of closure due to lockdown, Grosvenor Casino Didsbury, Grosvenor Casino Salford, and Grosvenor Casino Soames are all open for business, just in time for the Euros – but what has changed?

In line with the UK Government plan to ease lockdown, all 52 of Grosvenor Casinos UK venues reopened their doors from Monday, May 17th, much to the joy of staff and casino players across the country. Guests can once again enjoy a night out with friends and family, playing their favourite table games, from roulette and baccarat to blackjack and poker.  Visitors can also savour fine dining and other entertainments, such as watching sporting events.  

With nightclubs still waiting to get the go-ahead, guests will relish the chance to return to casinos to continue their nights out, once last orders have been called in most drinking establishments. 

Gavin Lee, Regional Operations Manager at Grosvenor Casinos, said, “We’ve been counting down the days to reopening and every passing day has brought increased excitement. It has been a challenging time for all our team members, but we can finally look forward to reuniting again and getting back to doing what we love – creating a unique atmosphere for guests to have fun, play their favourite casino games and enjoy quality time together.”

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Customers who have spent their time visiting online casinos in lockdown but have missed the atmosphere and social element of a real casino will be pleased to learn that they can return to real brick-and-mortar casinos. Sports fans will be delighted to know that live sporting events, such as the Euros, will be broadcast on the casinos’ big screens.

However, there are a few safety measures and restrictions in place that you should be aware of. As we’ve come to expect in public venues, you will need to register at reception on entry, hand sanitiser will be provided and you must wear a facemask when moving throughout the venue. 

Drinks and dining will be back on the menu, with socially distanced seating in place. You can pre-order table service using the venue’s app, or you can place an order with the valet service. 

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Contactless payments will be encouraged, although cash will continue to be accepted. Staff and customers will be protected by safety shields at the tills. 

There will also be regular cleaning every day, including but not limited to chips and tables and gaming machines. Numbers at tables will be restricted, and social distancing guidelines are in place. 

Customers will have screens made available to them at gaming tables and electronic machines.

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If you’re still not ready to visit real casinos and prefer to socially distance, then sites like whichcasino.com offer reviews for the best & new casinos online if this is more your thing.

Gain added: “We have been working hard to put in place robust health and safety measures, and when we reopen in line with government guidance, we will deliver a fun yet safe experience for all of our guests and team members to enjoy.”

For more information you can visit the Grosvenor Casinos website.

Business

Who are Manchester United’s suitors and what are the odds on them buying the club?

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester United next owner odds

While the majority of football fans are currently wrapped up in the World Cup, it’s easy to forget that it was all going on at Manchester United just a couple of weeks ago.

In addition to Cristiano Ronaldo leaving in an explosive fashion following his controversial interview with Piers Morgan, just days after his departure was confirmed, United finally got a whiff of the news they’d waited 17 years to hear as the Glazer family revealed they were open to selling the club.

With that in mind, it didn’t take long for the bookmakers to set the odds for who might come in next were the Glazers actually to agree to a sale and while there are some familiar names, others might come as a bit of a surprise.

Here are the suitors said to be most likely in the running, according to Bookies.com:

Manchester United Next Owner Odds

OwnerOddsImplied Probability
1. Jim Ratcliffe+30025.0%
2. Dubai Sovereign Group+37521.1%
3. Michael Knighton+45018.2%
4. Jim O’Neill+80011.1%
5. Harris/Blitzer Group+12007.7%
6. Pagliuca/Tanenbaum Group+12007.7%
7. David Beckham Group+17505.4%
8. The Field+50016.7%

Credit: Bookies.com

Who are the potential buyers?

As you can see, top of the list is no surprise: Failsworth-born billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe leads the odds with an estimated 25% chance of buying out Man United.

Said to be one of the richest men in the UK, Ratcliffe has been seen as arguably the most serious bidder for some time now, despite being told the club was “not for sale” back in October.

Meanwhile, Michael Knighton — who previously hoped to head up a consortium bid involving Ratcliffe’s immense wealth and already tried to buy United more than three decades ago — sits in third, though he’s made it clear that any potential takeover would require help with financing.

Ratcliffe United bid
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (Credit: INEOS)
Michael Knighton (Credit: Man United The Religion)

Sat in second are the Dubai Sovereign Group, i.e. a state-run fund akin to Manchester City‘s Abu Dhabi Group, PSG’s Qatari owners or Newcastle’s new Saudi Arabia administration.

Dubai are yet to join the premier footballing fray when it comes to putting the wealth of an entire nation’s investment fund into a sporting franchise but it seems like only a matter of time before they do.

Then there’s Jim O’Neill, a.k.a, the Lord and Baron of Gatley, who previously tried to launch a hostile takeover back in 2012. He hasn’t been in the conversation for some time but given his Goldman Sachs background, could be a serious option.

As for David Beckham, we imagine he’s too busy running Inter Miami and his part in Salford City via the Project 92 ownership group — though that Qatar money certainly won’t have hurt his chances. And, again, who knows, he could form part of a consortium.

Jim O’Neill (via GOV.UK)
Credit: David Beckham (via Instagram)

On to US investors with the Harris/Blitzer Group, owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, as well as the Pagliuca/Tanenbaum Group, who run the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Both groups have expressed interest in buying Premier League clubs in the past and as we have seen with Chelsea’s recent takeover, there seems to be a growing interest from American businesses even if not everyone is convinced that their designs on English football are a great fit.

Is the North vs South All-Star game a good idea, or just an American pipe-dream?

Then we come to ‘The Field’. For anyone unaware, this group is made up of inherited Red Bull owner, Mark Mateschitz, who not only owns the Formula One team but also RB Leipzig, Salzburg and several other sports teams. He is estimated to be worth more than $15 billion.

Beyond Mateschitz, the trio is completed by two of the richest men in the world, i.e. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Yep, those guys.

Moreover, the likes of the Daily Mail have already claimed that Amazon and Facebook are genuinely credible suitors when it comes to United’s next owners.

Read more:

This list is by no means exhaustive and, as always in football, who knows what’s going to happen next? Any one of these suitors could emerge as the leading candidate but there’s always a dark horse waiting in the wings.

Moreover, it isn’t just a case of ‘anyone would be better than the Glazers’ — nothing but trouble follows that way — so whoever the club decide to hand over the reins to, you can only hope they go through the proper vetting process.

Is there anyone else you think has an outside chance?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Wikimedia Commmons

Business

The Glazer family are FINALLY considering putting Manchester United up for sale

Danny Jones Danny Jones Glazers open to selling United

In an absolutely staggering day for Manchester United, it looks like the Glazer family could finally be considering selling the club. Parades outside Old Trafford incoming?

The announcement was made in an official statement by the club on Tuesday, 22 November, while most fans had not long finished watching the last World Cup game and were still digesting the news from earlier in the evening.

Should a sale actually go through (we’ll believe it when we see it), it will bring the Glazer‘s ownership of the club to an end after more than 17 years of protests and regression as a once top European team.

You can read the full statement down below, including words from the typically silent Glazers themselves.

The statement detailed how the board of directors are now “commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives for the club… with the ultimate goal of positioning the club to capitalize on opportunities both on the pitch and commercially.”

“As part of this process, the Board will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the Company.” Yes, you read that right: they might seriously consider selling.

The mere notion of a sale will come as a surprise to virtually every football fan, let alone United supporters, as the US businessmen have long made it clear they had no intention of letting the multi-billion pound sports franchise go.

It was only just over a month ago that long-time suitor Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he was told by the Glazers directly that the club “is not for sale“.

The announcement goes on to explain that they will be examining plans on everything from “stadium and infrastructure redevelopment… expansion of the club’s commercial operations on a global scale”, to the “long-term success of the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams” before taking next steps.

They also reiterated that the fan base’s interests will also be considered as much as stakeholders. Yeah, we’ve heard that one before…

News of the club being put up for auction was first broken by The Athletic, who reported that the much-maligned American owners had instructed their banks to handle the sale of the sporting giants.

Shortly after that, Sky News revealed that the share price of the club rocketed by 17% following the rumours alone.

Speaking in a rare statement from the two, co-chairmen and directors Joel and Avram Glazer said: “As we seek to continue building on the Club’s history of success, the Board has authorized a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives.

“We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximizes the significant growth opportunities available to the Club today and in the future.

They also insisted that they will “remain fully focused on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders.”

Whether what happens next is a full-blown agreement to sell or simply an invitation to welcome other investors on board, it is thought that the incoming parties will also be American. It also thought that were they to sell, they will be looking for offers between $5-9 billion.

It has also been confirmed that banking giants Rothschild and Co. will be acting as the exclusive financial advisor to the Glazer family shareholders and all those financially invested in the club.

Before fans get too carried away, the club did reiterate that “there can be no assurance that the review being undertaken will result in any transaction involving the Company” and no further comments will be made until an official decision or breakthrough has been made.

This earth-shattering news comes just hours after the Red Devils confirmed the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo by way of mutual agreement — an outcome that seemed significantly more likely than the club being put up for sale.

Read more:

Manchester United are approaching nearly a decade without a league title and have won few trophies in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson.

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Moreover, despite numerous additions to the squad itself down the year, the consensus has long been that the club has seen little investment from its owners — certainly not with their own money, anyway. With that in mind, a done deal or not, this is a momentous day for United fans around the world.

While we don’t expect a decision before the end of the year, Reds may finally be able to put their Glazers Out banners down in the near future.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Manchester United/Andre Zahn

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