Swansea have been owned by an American consortium since July 2016, when Jason Levien and Stephen Kaplan bought a controlling interest in the club. They were joined in August 2020 by Jake Silverstein. According to the club’s website, they owned around 80% between them. Following the conversion of some debt into equity, the Supporters Trust stake was diluted to around 13%, including a protected 5% ownership position.
Last month Andy Coleman, an investor in MLS team DC United
(where Levien is also involved), was appointed Swansea’s chairman, having
acquired “a significant shareholding”. This week Nigel Morris, the managing partner
of QED Investors, also made an investment into the club and joined the board of
directors.
Swansea’s pre-tax loss in 2021/22 nearly tripled from £4.6m
to £13.2m, mainly due to the ending of parachute payments in the fourth year
after relegation from the Premier League, which contributed to revenue falling
£7.9m (29%) from £27.6m to £19.7m. Profit
from player sales also dropped £1.6m from £12.5m to £10.9m, while there was no
repeat of prior year’s £3.3m business interruption insurance claim.
Swansea’s £13.2m loss was only mid-table, as some clubs
posted much higher losses, especially the three promoted clubs (Fulham £57.0m,
Bournemouth £55.5m and Nottingham Forest £46.2m). This was due to a combination
of squad investment and hefty bonus payments.
Swansea have often attempted to fund their operating losses
with profits from player sales, which was again the case in 2021/22 when they
generated £10.9m. Although this was down £1.6m compared to the previous
season’s £12.5m, it was still one of the highest in the Championship. Swansea generated an impressive £200m profit
from player sales in the last 10 years, though it is worth noting that profit
from this activity has now fallen four years in a row from the £46m peak in
2018.
Swansea have now posted pre-tax losses in three of their four
years in the Championship, though this only added up to a relatively modest
£22m. In their time in the Premier
League between 2012 and 2018, Swansea made money in five of the seven years.
Over that period, their aggregate profit amounted to an impressive £36m.
Since relegation from the Premier League, Swansea’s revenue
has dropped by an incredible £107m (84%) from £127m in 2018 to just £20m, the
club’s lowest revenue for 11 years. The decrease is largely due to much lower
TV money in the Championship (£95m decrease), though commercial and match day
were also down by £8m and £3m respectively.
Swansea’s wage bill fell £3.0m (11%) from £27.8m to £24.8m
(excluding £1.3m provision for onerous contracts). Wages have been cut by 75% (£74m) since the
Premier League peak of £99m five years ago, leading to the club’s lowest wage
bill since £17m in 2011.
Swansea have only spent £15m on transfers in the four years
since relegation, a massive reduction on the £120m splashed out in the last two
seasons in the Premier League. Supporters
were particularly frustrated at the lack of spending in the January window, as
they thought that a couple of new players might have pushed them towards a
play-off place.
£16m owner funding in the last 10 years is towards the lower
end of the Championship, much less than the likes of Fulham with an incredible £722m,
followed by QPR £268m and Middlesbrough £206m.
Swansea did not make the most out of the parachute payments,
so their challenge has now become that much harder. It will be interesting to see whether the
new investors can change things for the better.
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