Manchester United may be closing in on another Premier League title, but its success on the pitch has worked little magic in the City. The club's first bond issue, launched barely two weeks ago, has become one of the market's worst performers this year.

While the club has secured the ￡500m ($798m) funding that it needs to refinance its bank debt, the paper losses suffered by investors could affect its ability to return to bond markets.

The bid price of Manchester United's ￡250m of sterling denominated bonds has tumbled to just 93 per cent of their face value. For the $425m of dollar-denominated bonds the bid price has fallen to 94.5 per cent of face value. Bankers and analysts said yesterday the bonds had performed poorly because they had been priced too highly at launch. They also blamed the lack of a credit rating.