Defeat in Greece last night was a blow for Aston Villa, but exciting times lie ahead.
Controlled by Egypt’s richest man, Nassef Sawiris, and US
billionaire Wes Edens, co-founder of Fortress Investment Group, Villa is trying
to break the grip that the six clubs have had at the top of the Premier League
over the past decade. The club, which draws support from across the West
Midlands, is fourth in the Premier League table, putting Villa on course to
qualify for the Uefa Champions League ahead of Spurs.
Finishing in the top
four guarantees a spot in Europe’s elite and most lucrative club competition
and would mark a major step forward for the club, which is preparing to mark
its 150th season anniversary. “We’re knocking on the door of the Champions
League. That level is where we want to be and that’s where we want to stay,”
Chris Heck (who runs the club’s business operations), told the Financial Times. He previously held senior roles at the
Philadelphia 76ers basketball franchise and the New York Red Bulls soccer team.
Qualification for the Champions League is the big prize for
Villa, boosting its revenue growth and pitting the club against European
heavyweights such as Real Madrid and AC Milan. Villa won the European Cup,
the precursor to the Champions League, in 1982.
Speaking at the club’s new London offices, Heck said it was
vital to increase revenues to compete, highlighting opportunities in
merchandise, sponsorship and expanding the club’s home stadium from roughly
42,600 seats to about 50,000. Last month, Villa said that betting brand Betano
would replace BK8 as its front-of-shirt sponsor from next season. Heck declined
to comment on the value of the sponsorship but the new deal is worth about
£20mn a year, according to a person briefed on the matter, up from about £8mn
previously.
Villa has proposed an increase to the losses allowed under
the league’s profitability and sustainability rules, from £105mn to £135mn over
three years, according to a person with knowledge of the club’s position. Heck
declined to comment. The loss limit, which allows exceptions for investments
such as infrastructure and women’s football, had not been updated to take into
account inflation since it was introduced in 2013, according to people with
knowledge of the matter.
The club, which is owned by V Sports, a joint venture
between Sawiris and Edens, swung to a net loss of almost £120mn in the year to
May 2023, from a small profit a year earlier. Revenues grew by more than a
fifth to £217mn, powered by double-digit percentage increases across ticketing,
broadcasting, sponsorship and commercial.
However, the club’s wage bill leapt by more than 40 per cent
to £194mn, driving operating expenses to £357mn. V Sports, which also owns
shares in Portuguese side Vitória, in December sold a minority stake to
investment company Atairos, which has ties to broadcasters Comcast,
NBCUniversal and Sky. The deal valued Villa at more than £500mn.
“I actually like the term, ‘the Great Eight’, and you can
decide who you want to throw in there with us”, Heck told the Pink ‘Un, adding:
“I respect all of those clubs but that ‘Big Six’ name may go away sooner than
you think.”
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