Skip to main content

Owner's support critical for Boro

The authoritative Swiss Ramble provides a forensic analysis of Middlesbrough's 2021/22 finances: https://swissramble.substack.com/p/middlesbrough-finances-202122

Middlesbrough’s £19.5m loss was still fairly large, albeit better than the only other Championship club to publish 2021/22 accounts so far, namely Bristol City £28.5m.  That said, Boro’s loss was only surpassed by three other clubs in 2020/21, a year that was more adversely impacted by COVID.

Middlesbrough have now posted three consecutive losses, amounting to £86m. In this period, they have been hit by the double whammy of COVID and the end of Premier League parachute payment.  In truth, like most Championship clubs, Boro regularly lose money, e.g. eight times in the last decade. The last time they were in the top flight in 2016/17 they made a £7m profit.

One reason that Middlesbrough losses have increased in the last three years is very low profits from player trading. After £60m of gains in the three years between 2017 and 2019, they have only made £9m since then.

Middlesbrough £27m revenue is one of the highest in the Championship – if you exclude the clubs that benefit from Premier League parachute payments, whose revenue is at least twice as much.

Middlesbrough gross debt rose £19m from £129m to £148m. Almost all of this is owed to owner Steve Gibson, who increased his loan by £22m to £142m.  Since 2011 Gibson has put £151m into the club via loans, some of which have been subsequently converted into capital.  Like many other Championship clubs, Boro continues to make significant losses, so the owner’s financial support remains critical.


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

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

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