Skip to main content

Villa loss £71m in one year

Now that the accounts of Aston Villa's holding company (Recon Ltd) have been published it is possible to get a more accurate idea of the club's finances. Aston Villa trading losses exceeded £1 million a week in 2017/18 or a total of £71m.

Broadcasting, including Premier League distributions, accounted for 59 per cent of the £68.6m turnover. Parachute payments were down by £8m. Sponsorship was up because of the training ground deal and represented 7 per cent of turnover. Gate receipts accounted for 17 per cent.

Wages were up £12 million to £73m as Villa count cost of John Terry and other loan deals but other employees count the cost as staff numbers fall by 270. Villa paid £106 in wages for every £100 of income in 2017/18. Income likely to fall by £25m in 2018/19 as in the final parachute year.

Villa claim youth development spending, which is excluded from FFP calculations, rose by £5m in 2017/18. Club received £3m land compensation, perhaps HS2 related?

Villa spent just £1.8 million on new players in 2017/18 but had sales of £32 million. Whilst Villa didn’t sign many players in 17/18 they did have to pay £41 million in instalments on old purchases. Share issue brought in £69 million to rescue the club.

Villa may be okay in terms of financial fair play as some costs are excluded. Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball has estimated that FFP losses for last two seasons are £25.1 million so maximum loss for 2018/19 is £13.9 million. Will be tough due to parachute payments falling but not impossible.

Comments

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...

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 ...

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....