Bristol City rely on benefactor owner

Bristol City’s pre-tax loss in 2022/23 reduced by £6.3m from £28.5m to £22.2m (loss after tax £22.1m), as revenue rose £6.9m (23%) from £29.7m to a club record £36.6m and profit from player sales shot up from £1.3m to £9.5m.  On the other hand, operating expenses increased by £7.7m (13%) to £65.3m and net interest payable was up £0.9m (44%) to £3.1m.   (13 month figures)

The main reason for the higher income was commercial, which grew by more than a third (£5.6m) from £15.8m to £21.4m, but the other revenue streams also increased. Match day rose £1.1m (21%) from £5.2m to £6.3m, while broadcasting was £0.2m higher at £8.9m.  It is worth noting the importance to Bristol City of commercial income, which now accounts for 58% of total revenue, compared to 24% from broadcasting and 17% from match day.  City had the 6th highest attendance in the Championship in 2022/23, though they were a fair way below the likes of Sunderland 38,480 and Sheffield United 28,746.

Bristol City’s revenue is actually one of the highest in the Championship – if you exclude the clubs that benefit from parachute payments. Their revenue is nearly twice as much as the Robins, e.g. Norwich City had £76m last season, while Sheffield United and WBA had £67m and £65m respectively in 2021/22.

That said, City do enjoy a decent revenue advantage over most clubs in the division, so arguably should be performing a bit better than their league finishes in recent seasons.

Even after reducing the loss two years in a row, the harsh reality is that Bristol City continue to lose money. As Finance Director Tom Rawcliffe wryly observed, “A loss of £22.2m is not insignificant.”

Large losses are nothing new for City, as they have only managed to generate a profit once in the last decade, i.e. £11m in 2019, thanks to a hefty £38m profit from player sales.   In that period, the club has lost a substantial £155m before tax, including £89m in the last three seasons alone (though that was obviously adversely impacted by COVID).

Championship realities

Only two Championship clubs have to date published accounts for 2022/3, but City’s pre-tax loss is clearly on the high side for the division, looking at other clubs’ results from the previous season.

Clubs with the largest losses are frequently those that are promoted to the Premier League, partly reflecting investment in the squad, but also the hefty bonus payments (or price of success).

Very few clubs make money in this incredibly competitive division, though Hull City, WBA, Peterborough United and Blackpool did manage to post a profit in 2021/22. Stoke City’s massive £102m reported profit is misleading, as this would actually have been an £18m loss without the benefit of a £120m exceptional loan waiver.

City’s figures were boosted by a £9.5m profit from player sales, up from just £1.3m in the previous season, largely due to the sale of Antoine Semenyo to Bournemouth, though Daniel Bentley’s more to Wolves should also have generated a decent gain.

This was a pretty good result in the Championship, where clubs usually make very little from player trading. Traditionally, the only ones that do well here are those that have recently been relegated from the Premier League, which highlights another benefit such clubs enjoy on top of parachute payments.

City had the 6th highest attendance in the Championship in 2022/23, though they were a fair way below the likes of Sunderland 38,480 and Sheffield United 28,746.

Even after including the 13th month, City’s £36.0m wages were still a lot lower than the amounts paid by those clubs benefiting from parachute payments, e.g. Bournemouth £61m in 2021/22 and Norwich City £56m last season.   City’s wages should come down this season following the departure of some higher earners, who have been offloaded on free transfers, such as Jay Dasilva, Tomas Kalas, Taylor Moore and Han-Noah Massengo.

For many years Bristol City have been dependent on funding from Lansdown, which the club described as “very generous”. That’s a fair description, given that it is estimated that the owner has put in around £255m to date, which is a huge commitment.

The latest set of accounts does contain some bright spots, such as the improvement in commercial operations and the return to profitable player trading, but the need for financial support from the owners shows little sign of going away.

With Bristol City currently sitting just outside the play-off places, there is a lot to play for this season.