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Brighton 2018/19: Switch
Introduction A lot of money is required to get to the Premier League, but as the 2018/19 Brighton and Hove Albion accounts reveal, it takes a lot to stay there too. Losses of £21 million were announced for the year to 30 June 2019, reversing a profit of £12 million the previous season as the club finished in 17th position in the table. Investment in players was the main reason for the deterioration in the financial results, as well as some one off costs following Chris Hughton’s sacking the day after the season ended. Income Just ten years ago Brighton’s income was £5 million for the whole season, but this…
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Rangers and Celtic: Never Let Me Down
Glasgow’s big two teams have good starts to both domestic and Europa Cup campaigns so far this season and both have just announced their financial results for 2018/19. Everyone know that the rivalry between the clubs and especially their fans is intense, but do the accounts give the likes of @BearNecessities1872 and @PopeAndGlory on Twitter more point scoring opportunities against each other? Revenue Revenue for clubs is generated from three sources, matchday, broadcasting and commercial. Relative to the rest of Scottish football, where many clubs are so small, they are not legally obliged to show income and expenses in their accounts, Celtic and Rangers dominate as would be expected. All…
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Bristol City 2018/19: Empty Skies
Introduction: Life in the Championship is tough, and Bristol City’s latest financial results are testament to that as playoff hopes were dashed and the club lost a lot of money on a day to day basis. Every cloud has a silver lining and City’s impressive player recruitment and talent spotting allowed the club to reverse these losses due to player sales that generated £38 million profits. Even so, the club needed the benevolence of owner Stephen Lansdown to keep its head above water as he continued to pump money into City. Key figures for year to 31 May 2019: Bristol City Holdings Ltd Income £30.3 million (up 20%). Wages £30.6…
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Bury: Another brick in the wall
Overview The company has taken advantage of legislation for small businesses to avoid publishing full financial statements. This means that there is no profit and loss account or income/wage details. No accounts have been published for the year ended 31 May 2018, in breach of company law, making the directors guilty of a criminal offence. Losses accelerated for the company from 2013 onwards, following the acquisition of the club by Stewart Day. In the two years when the club did publish fuller sets of accounts, wages exceeded income. Income details Bury’s income increased in 2015/6 and 2016/7 when the club was in League One. This is partially due to increased…
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Birmingham City 2018: The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Introduction Birmingham City’s parent company Birmingham Sports Holdings Ltd, announced its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2018 in October. We wrote about them at the time and can now slightly refine the figures after Birmingam City Football Club plc sent their accounts to the company registrar. Key Figures Income up 7% to £18.8 million Wages up 69% to £38.0 million Trading losses up from £16.1 to £38.8 million Player purchases up from £11.6 to £15.4 million Income Every club must split its income into at least three categories to comply with EFL League recommendations, matchday, broadcasting and commercial. Birmingham’s matchday income rose by 9% last season to…
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Hull City 2018: Eye of The Tiger
Introduction Hull City Tigers Limited were the first club to submit their accounts to the government registrar for the 2017/18 season and reported a £24 million profit before tax in the business review. Both the above look good, but things happen for a reason, and there’s more to the early publication and impressive profit than perhaps meets the eye. In the strategic report the board say the following… Hull finished 18th last season, yet scored 70 goals, which was only surpassed by three teams, and conceded 70 too, which was only surpassed by four. They currently lie 21st after nine games, and the former Scunthorpe United physio has not managed…
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Accrington Stanley: The Milkman of Human Kindness
In September 2014 Accrington Stanley were served with a winding up order by the tax authorites. This was one of a series of financial demands that the club had had to deal with as it lurched from crisis to crisis. It was saved at the last minute by a local businessman…and in May 2018 was promoted to League One as Champions. We met Accrington’s owner, Andy Holt, the social media scourge of the Premier League, the EFL and Salford City’s Gary Neville at the National Football Museum recently. He’s kindly not only given us the club accounts in respect of their League Two winning year for 2017/18, but also the…
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Bournemouth 2016/17 and FFP Fine: Every Breath You Take
Introduction: Bournemouth have just agreed a fine of £4.75 million with the English Football League in relation to a breach of FFP rules, a couple of years after initially showing an expected fine of £7.615million, so we thought we’d take a more detailed look at how this arose and the state of the Cherries’ finances. Overview Income £136.5 million for 11 months to 30 June 2017 (2016 £87.9 million for year to 31 July 2016) Proportion of income from broadcasting 91% (2016 85%) Wages £71.5 million (£59.6m) Profit before player sales £15.2million (loss £6.1m) Highest paid director £1,226,000 (£1,074,000) Player signings £9.3 million (£69.8m) League position 9th (16th) Income For…
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Crystal Palace 2017: Dancing In The Dark
Starting with the elephant in the room, we’re Brighton fans here on this blog, so stop reading if you’re a Palace fan and think the aim is to have a pop at your club’s finances. The Palace accounts cover the year to 30 June 2017, they were due to submitted to Companies House by 31 March 2018 but were a few months late. Eagles fans (and those of their rivals) have speculated as to why the club has taken such an approach, as all other clubs had submitted their accounts some time ago. Vast amounts of social media space have been taken up with fans arguing, often with themselves, as…
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New TV Distribution Rules: Everyone’s A Winner…?
On the same day that lots of people were getting giddy about Amazon buying one of the Premier League TV rights packages for 2019-22 for an ‘unspecified price’ (i.e. peanuts) the Premier League owners also sneaked through a new formula for the distribution of PL monies between clubs, in what was a textbook example of a slick PR operation choosing a good day to bury bad news for anyone outside of the Premier League. Q: What’s the problem? Some of the ‘Big’ clubs feel that they get a raw deal from the existing way that broadcasting monies are split in the Premier League, so want to change the rules. Q:…