Bees punch above their weight

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has turned his attention to Brentford, a club looking forward to a new era as work continues on the new stadium at Lionel Road (capacity 17,250) that will allow them to leave the atmospheric but cramped confines of Griffin Park.

The club's loss in 2017/18 widened from £1.0m to £3.9m, due to 'increased football related costs'. Revenue was stable at £12.7m, due to 'similar on-pitch performance and attendance year-on-year', while profit on player sales rose £1.3m to £14.1m. The £4m loss was actually one of the better results in the Championship, with only five reporting profits. In fact, 10 clubs lost more than £20m.

Brentford's financial challenge is highlighted by the fact that their £12.7m revenue was lowest in the Championship, below Burton Albion £12.9m, Preston £13.3m and Barnsley £14m (two of whom were relegated). Only around a fifth of Villa £69m, Sunderland £64m, and Boro £62m.

Revenue has nearly tripled since promotion from League One to the Championship, rising from £4.4m in 2014 to £12.7m in 2018. The majority of the £8.3m growth has come from TV (£6.2m), but ticketing (£1.4m) and commercial (£0.7m) have also increased.

Following promotion from League One, losses initially increased in the Championship (£17m in 2015 and £13m in 2016) in order to compete at the higher level, but the club has now put into place a stronger business model, leading to smaller losses in 2017 and 2018.

Though Brentford FC suffer from very low revenue and wages in the Championship, their smart approach to player trading has 'created a platform from which we intend to build in our attempt to finish in the top six and ultimately secure promotion to the Premier League.' As the Bees chairman said, 'Perhaps the most remarkable achievement is continuing to challenge in the top half of the table, while operating comfortably within FFP regulations, largely achieved by securing profits from player trading of over £40m in the last three years.'

Since 2009 the club's only real source of funds has been money put in by Matthew Benham, used to cover operating losses (£68m) with a further £36m spent on infrastructure investment (stadium & training ground) and £8m on acquiring a subsidiary (for the Lionel Road site).

Benham’s commitment to Brentford was a substantial £114m as at 30 June 2018, comprising £76m loans and £38m share capital. Included £30m for the new stadium. With much justification, chairman Cliff Crown has described this as 'magnificent financial backing'.

For many years Brentford spent little on player recruitment, but they have averaged £8m in the last three seasons. However, player sales increased even more to £12m, leading to £4m net sales. Benham argued that this was a necessity, 'With FFP we were always going to have to sell players.'

They spent £11m on players in 2017/18, £4m more than prior season, including Ollie Watkins, Neal Maupay, Henrik Dalsgaard and Kamohelo Mokotjo. Still significantly outspent by clubs like Middlesbrough £66m, Fulham £31m, Leeds United £28m and Wolves £25m.

The wages to turnover ratio of 135% is obviously not great and was actually the seventh highest (worst) in the Championship. That said, no fewer than 13 clubs in this division have reported ratios above 100%. The £17m wage bill was the fifth lowest in the division, only ahead of Preston, Millwall, Barnsley and Burton Albion. As former manager Dean Smith said, 'If it was down to budgets, we might as well give up now.' However, the Bees have continued to punch above their weight.

The £2.3m commercial income is the third lowest in Championship, only above Millwall and Barnsley. This is a big competitive disadvantage, e.g. Leeds £22m is nearly 10 times as much. TV income rose £0.1m to £7.3m, including PL solidarity payment £4.5m and £2.3m EFL central distribution. The huge amounts received in the top flight (£150m for 1st place, £95m for 20th) help explain why so many Championship clubs spend big in pursuit of that prize.

The average attendance of 10,581 was still the second smallest in the Championship, only ahead of Burton Albion and nearly 3,000 behind the next lowest club, Millwall and miles behind the top two: Aston Villa 32,097 and Leeds United 31,521. It increased 1% from 10,472 to 10,581, which was just under 3,000 more than when they played in League One, though down on the 10,700 peak the first season back in the Championship. Ticket prices had been frozen for four seasons, though there will be a £10 increase in 2019/20.

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The Political Economy of Football V2

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