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.
Coleman, an investor in MLS team DC United (where Levien is
also involved), was appointed Swansea’s chairman, having acquired “a
significant shareholding” and taking over day-to-day responsibility for the
running of the club, leading to the departure of chief executive Julian Winter.
Only last month, there was another change to the ownership,
when the club announced that Nigel Morris, a British businessman (with Welsh
heritage), had made an investment into the club and joined the board of
directors.
Following this investment, the largest shareholders are now:
- Swansea
LLC (Coleman, Kaplan, Levien and Silverstein) – 74.95%
- Nigel
Morris – 12.59%
- Swansea
City Supporters Trust – 9.42%
Swansea have lost money in four of the five sets of accounts
published in the Championship, adding up to £40m. Worryingly, the losses have
been getting bigger, so the club’s deficit in the last two seasons alone was a
hefty £31m.
This is in stark contrast to the Swans’ time in the Premier
League between 2012 and 2018, when they made money in five of the seven
seasons. Over that period, their aggregate profit amounted to an impressive
£36m.
Swansea’s pre-tax loss widened in 2022/23 from £13.2m to
£17.9m, despite revenue rising £1.9m (10%) from £19.7m to £21.6m, mainly
because profit from player sales fell £6.4m from £10.9m to £4.5m. There was
hardly any change in operating expenses of £42.9m, though net interest payable
rose £0.3m to £1.2m.
The main reason for Swansea’s revenue increase was
commercial, which rose £3.2m (52%) from £6.2m to £9.4m, which was enough to
offset reductions in both match day, which dropped £0.7m (17%) from £4.2m to
£3.5m, and broadcasting, down £0.6m (7%) from £9.3m to £8.7m.
Swansea’s large loss is clearly not great news, as the club
itself admitted, “The directors acknowledge the difficult financial and
operational conditions the company, along with other Championship football
clubs, are experiencing.”
This view was echoed by the Supporters Trust, “We are
acutely aware that the results we are seeing today are all too commonplace
amongst our Championship rivals, where the majority are also seeing mounting
year on year losses.”
Player sales
The club said that “at the core of its strategy is a
positive player trading model”, which is evidenced by Swansea generating an
impressive £183m profit from player sales in the last nine years. Profitable
departures since relegation to the Championship have included the likes of
Flynn Downes, Joe Rodon, Oli McBurnie and Daniel James.
However, it is worth noting that the profit from player
trading has now fallen five years in a row from the £46m peak in 2018, though
the 2023/24 results should reverse this trend, mainly thanks to the big money
sale of Joel Piroe to Leeds United.
Swansea’s average attendance dropped from 17,389 to 16,821,
which was around 3,800 lower than the 20,600 or so that they consistently
attracted in the Premier League. Following
the decrease, Swansea’s 16,821 average attendance was in the bottom half of the
Championship, far below Sunderland 38,653, Sheffield United 28,746, Norwich
City 26,131 and Middlesbrough 26,012.
Wages have been cut by 75% (£74m) since the Premier League
peak of £99m six years ago, first falling after relegation to the Championship,
then further decreasing after parachute payments stopped.
Swansea’s £12m gross debt was one of the lowest in the
Championship, far below the likes of Middlesbrough £159m, Birmingham City £149m
and Blackburn Rovers £142m.
Owner funding
In the accounts, the board formally acknowledged “the
continued generous financial support provided by the club’s beneficial owners”,
which was fair comment, given that they had put in £45m up to June 2023. Since then, they have made a series of
monthly capital injections, adding up to around £27m, which means their funding
is up to £72m in total.
In the three years up to 2022/23, their £45m funding was one
of the highest in the Championship, only surpassed by five clubs – and one of
those was Reading, whose problems might give pause for thought.
The owners will certainly be looking for improvement on the
pitch next season to justify their substantial investment, though they might
need to again stump up some cash to strengthen the squad, if they want to have
a realistic chance of promotion.
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