Generous funding at Stoke but more limited success on the pitch

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the 2021/22 accounts of Stoke City: https://swissramble.substack.com/p/stoke-city-finances-202122

Stoke swung from a £10m pre-tax loss to a £102m profit, though this was driven by the owners of the club forgiving £120m of historic debts that had been accumulated in support of investment into the club.

Following four consecutive years of losses, this is the first time that Stoke have reported a profit since 2017. As a rule, they managed to make (small) profits when in the Premier league.

Stoke’s profit from player sales increased from just £0.9m to £10.9m, mainly from Nathan Collins to Burnley and Sam Surridge to Nottingham Forest.  This is actually the highest in 2021/22 for those clubs that have so far published accounts, as the impact of COVID has resulted in a depressed transfer market, especially at the Championship level. 

Since relegation from the Premier League, Stoke’s revenue has dropped by £96m (75%) from £127m in 2018 to £31m, almost entirely due to less TV money in the Championship (£92m decrease), though gate receipts and commercial are also down by £2m apiece.  Stoke’s revenue has now fallen five years in a row from a peak of £136m in 2017, mainly as a result of relegation and declining parachute payments.

Even after the decrease, Stoke’s £31m revenue is one of the highest in the Championship, only behind those clubs in receipt of parachute payments. For example, in 2020/21 three such clubs were well above £50m, namely Bournemouth £72m, Norwich City £57m and Watford £57m.

Stoke’s wage bill fell £13m (25%) from £50m to £37m, despite headcount increasing from 317 to 336, as the club had to compensate for parachute payments stopping. This means that wages are down 60% (from £94m) in the four years since relegation.  This is the club’s lowest wage bill since £30m in 2010, but it should fall even further after the departure of some relatively high earners last summer. Despite the decrease, Stoke’s £37m wage bill is still one of the highest in the Championship. In fact, it is the highest reported to date in 2021/22, though they will certainly be overtaken when the three clubs most recently relegated publish their accounts.

The Swiss Ramble reckons that the Coates family have pumped £338m into Stoke City since regaining control of the club in 2006, comprising loans £251m, share capital £2m and £86m payment for the sale of the stadium and training ground.   Excluding the property sale proceeds, the Coates family have put in £195m of funding in the 10 years up to 2021. That’s a lot of money, which is actually only surpassed in the Championship by QPR’s £283m.

Stoke’s owners can be praised for their magnificent financial support, but the other side of the coin is sporting success, and mistakes have clearly been made in that department.