Skip to main content

Match day revenue key in League One

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has been taking a look at League One finances based on the 2016/17 accounts. In some cases clubs publish only abbreviated accounts so the information available is limited.

11 of the 24 clubs in League One made money, though the amounts are very small – the highest were Swindon Town and Rochdale £1.4m. The largest reported losses were Millwall £5.8m, Sheffield United £5.7m and Scunthorpe United £5.6m.

Profit on player sales was below £3m for all but two clubs in League One. The exceptions were relegated from the Championship: Charlton £16.2m (Lookman to Everton, Gudmundsson and Pope to Burnley, Cousins to QPR) and Bolton Wanderers £5.6m (Holding to Arsenal, Clough to Forest).

The three clubs promoted from League One in 2016/17 had the highest revenue: Bolton Wanderers £14.7m (though this includes £6.5m from the Whites Hotel), Sheffield United £11.4m and Millwall £10.0m. Next highest were Charlton £7.6m, Oxford £7.0m, Walsall £6.6m and MK Dons £6.6m.

At this level, match day revenue can be a critical differentiator with Sheffield United leading the way with £7.9m, followed by Millwall £5.2m, Charlton Athletic £3.2m and Bolton Wanderers £3.2m.

Highest attendances were at two Yorkshire clubs: Sheffield United 22,000 and Bradford City 18,000. Sheffield United crowds would have placed them in the top 10 of the Championship. Followed by Bolton 15,000, Charlton 11,000 and MK Dons 10,000.

Three of the four highest League One wage bills were at the promoted clubs, though these were inflated by promotion bonuses. Highest was Bolton £13.8m (including £1.1m for hotel), followed by Charlton £11.1m, Sheffield United £10.0m & Millwall £9.4m, then large gap to Scunthorpe £6.0m.

Clubs in League One have to comply with the Salary Cost Management Protocol, so the wages to turnover ratios are normally better (lower) than those in the Championship. Nevertheless, still some clubs above 100%: Charlton 146%, Scunthorpe 145%, Fleetwood Town 109% and Southend 104%.

The highest financial debt by far in League One was £65m at Charlton Athletic, mainly owed to owner Roland Duchâtelet’s company, followed by Coventry City £37m, mainly owed to hedge fund owners SISU Capital, then Bolton Wanderers £22m, Millwall £20m and Southend United £18m.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wolves get raw deal from FFP

  I used to see a lifelong Wolves fan for lunch once a month.   He was approaching ninety, but still went to games.   Sadly he passed away the other week. As football finance guru Kieran Maguire has noted, Wolves continue to be constrained by financial fair play rules.  Radio 4 this morning described them as this year's 'crisis club' and the pessimists have certainly been piling in. Martin Samuel wrote sympathetically in the Sunday Times yesterday, saying that the Premier League drives talent away with regulatory red tape: 'Why could Al-Hilal sign Neves? Because Wolves needed the money. And why did Wolves need the money? Because the club had to comply with an artificial construct known as financial fair play. So Wolves are going skint, yes? No. There is no suggestion that Wolves are in financial trouble, only that they are failing to meet the rigours of FFP. Wolves’ owners appear to have the money to run the club, and invest in the club, and in fact came up with a pow
Post a 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

Charlton takeover approved

The long awaited takeover of Charlton Athletic by SE7 Partners from Thomas Sandgaard has been approved:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/se7-partners-obtain-efl-approval-for-charlton-athletic-takeover/ Charlton have had unhappy experiences with owners for over a decade, so how this works out will remain to be seen.  There is certainly potential there, but will it be realised? This interview with Charlie Methven gives detail not available elsewhere:  https://thecharltondossier.com/charlie-methven-on-the-record/
Post a Comment
Read more