Skip to main content

Wimbledon in good financial health

AFC Wimbledon are looking forward to construction work starting on their new stadium in the summer. In the meantime, they have given considerable financial help to their tenants at Kingsmeadow, Kingstonian.

The turnover for 2016/17 was about £740k higher than the previous year at £4.675m. The major reason for this increase was additional central funding from the EFL and the Premier League solidarity payments which also reflected the extra payments following promotion to League One. As a result, these payments were over £600k higher than in the previous years. Sponsorship and advertising were over £600k higher.

The main turnover items were:

  • Match receipts and prize money £2.719m
  • Youth development income £602k
  • Sponsorships and advertising £590k
  • Bar and catering £400k

In 2016-17 the club had very good attendances, averaging comfortably over 4,000 for league games. Taking account of the increased income from solidarity payments, and a profit of £355k from the sale of players, the club felt able to increase the playing budget. Total staff costs accounted for two-thirds of turnover.

To terminate Kingstonian's licence at Kingsmeadow the club paid contractual compensation of £80,500 and a donation of £69,500. 'After extensive discussion, the boards concluded that it was important and morally right to help Kingstonian secure their future by making a further substantial donation on completion of sale of the stadium.' A donation of £1m was agreed. The payments to Kingstonian turned an operating profit of £57k into a loss after tax of £1.13m.

The annual report notes, 'In a small company, which is what the football club continues to be, cash is a crucial issue. The bank balance is monitored on a daily basis.'

'Once a season is under way, the finances are largely predictable, with season tickets paid for and corporate sponsorships already sold (and, by and large, collected). The major factor than then affects the results is attendances, since they directly affect areas such as bars, merchandise sales etc.'

The club is committed to the first stage of building a new stadium close to their historic home at Plough Lane. This will have a capacity between 9,000 and 10,000 of a 20,000 stadium. The stadium will be funded largely by a £14m contribution from Galliard Homes and the proceeds of the sale of Kingsmeadow to Chelsea, with the balance to be financed from borrowings.

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

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000.  The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.  Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is
Post a 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 depl
Post a Comment
Read more