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Derby County owners prepared to pay the prices of success

The owners of Derby County want to see the club established in the top half of the Premier League and are prepared to spend to achieve that objective. They have injected £96m over the last two years, including £15.6m this season. The loss of £7.9m in the 2016/17 financial year is considered by the Board to be 'of a level of spend and investment that is required in order to build a sustainable club in the long term'. However, 'The EFL profit and sustainability regulations continue to provide a significant challenge. The Club needs to balance success on the field together with the financial imperatives of this regulatory framework.' It is noted that 'dependency on parent company support is critical to remaining a going concern'.

Turnover was up by £6.4m to £29m. TV and broadcasting revenues increased by £2.3m to £7.9m, predominantly due to the EFL broadcasting deal. Ticketing and commercial revenues were up by £0.9m to £8.7m and sponsorship by £2m to £5m.

The commercial and sponsorship rights increases are largely attributed to a new joint venture between the club and Delaware North Companies UK Ltd called 'Club DCFC Limited' who from July 2016 have operated all of the hospitality, events and concourse activities at Pride Park.

The club lost £450,000 a week before player sales. The operating loss was £23.3m, but this was offset by a profit on player sales of £16.2m, principally those of Jeff Hendrick, Lee Grant, Will Hughes and Tom Ince.

At £34.6m staff costs amounted to 119 per cent of turnover. Such high figures are not unusual in the Championship, called by the club 'the world's most competitive league'.

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