Skip to main content

Relegation hits Norwich revenues

The cost of relegation from the Premier League is emphasised by the financial results for Norwich to 30th June which show a £25m reduction in income from £100.6m to £75.9m, largely because of the loss of broadcasting revenues which fell by £18.6m. Ticket sales were down from £11.5m to £9.2m. Parachute payments were also reduced.

'The reality is that the financial gap between the Premier League and Championship has widened,' said chairman Ed Balls. 'The accounts show how hard it is to be relegated. Even though we tried to have a plan to ensure player wages came down too it wasn’t enough to fill the gap.'

However, losses were relatively modest at £2.7m, although they compare with a profit of £9.4m in the previous year. The club is also relatively free of external debt at £1.8m in the form of a bank working capital facility. Wages were reduced by prudent clauses in player contracts. The total bill was down from £62m to £55m. Even so it is the second largest wage bill in Championship history (after QPR).

The financial position was worsened by severance payouts totalling more than £4m, split between outgoing chief executive Jez Moxey, former manager Alex Neil, and some of his coaching staff.

Dealings in the transfer market have reaped some benefit, with a £2.1m profit from player trading, compared to an £11m loss the previous year. Player purchases totalled £27.6m and players sold brought in £29.7m.

In light of the tighter financial situation at the club, long-mooted expansion hopes for Carrow Road have been put on hold, as has work at the training ground.

The plan is to secure a return to the Premier League, but not at any cost. Asked what the plan would be if the club fails to achieve promotion to the Premier League this season, managing director Steve Stone said: 'The Plan B is creating a succession plan for players brought in from the academy to look at the squad for the next three years and to look at who can replace players to achieve getting to the Premier League in the intervening transfer window.'

'The academy really has to work in the long term bringing players through under our existing funding model. I would expect staff costs to come down next year, primarily due to redundancies.'

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

Spurs to sell minority stake

Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale. Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium. The financier Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be among the parties to have expressed an interest in Tottenham. Staveley’s fund, PCP Capital Partners, has raised about £500 million to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Millwall punch above their weight

Millwall’s season was overshadowed by the tragic death of owner John Berylson following a car accident. The American had been an exemplary owner, beloved by the fans for his leadership, passion and generosity. Millwall’s finances had been pretty good during his tenure, which we shall explore by looking at the most recent accounts from the 2022/23 season, when the club narrowly missed out on a place in the play-offs after finishing 8th. Millwall’s pre-tax loss slightly reduced from £12.6m to £12.2m, as revenue rose £0.8m (4%) from £18.6m to a club record £19.4m and player sales improved from a £0.1m loss to £2.5m profit. However, other operating income dropped from by £1.1m from £1.3m to £0.2m, while operating expenses increased £1.7m (5%) from £31.6m to £33.3m. The main driver of the revenue increase was broadcasting, which rose £1.1m (12%) from £9.1m to £10.2m, though match day was also up £0.4m (7%) from £5.8m to £6.2m. In contrast, commercial fell £0.7m (19%) from £3.7m to £3....
Post a Comment
Read more