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Pre-tax loss triples at Leicester

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the latest accounts of Leicester City: https://swissramble.substack.com/p/leicester-city-finances-202122

Leicester’s pre-tax loss nearly tripled from £33m to £92m, mainly due to profit from player sales dropping £35m from £44m to £9m, though revenue also fell £12m (5%) from £226m to £214m. Operating expenses rose £4m (1%), while net interest payable shot up £8m (67%) from £11m to £19m.

Leicester’s £92m pre-tax loss is the second worst financial result to date, only surpassed by Manchester United £150m, though large losses were also reported by Tottenham £61m, Wolves £46m and Arsenal £45m.

Leicester’s £9m profit from player sales was the club’s lowest since 2015, far below the likes of Aston Villa (mainly Jack Grealish) £97m, Manchester City £68m and Liverpool £28m.   Up until last season Leicester had made a huge amount of money from player sales, adding up to nearly a quarter of a billion pounds in the five years between 2017 and 2021. Their business model was to sell a major name each season to one of the Big Six clubs (often to Chelsea): N’Golo Kanté, Danny Drinkwater, Riyad Mahrez, Harry Maguire and Ben Chilwell.

Leicester have now reported four consecutive years of losses, adding up to £213m, which is in stark contrast to the four years of profits after promotion to the Premier League in 2014, amounting to £137m.

Since King Power acquired Leicester City in August 2010, the owners have put in £387m (£281m loans and £106m share capital), including £197m in the last three years alone.

Looking ahead to this summer, it would be no surprise if they sell James Maddison, as they look to comply with financial regulations.


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