Skip to main content

Better accounts at Wednesday reflect limited squad investment

Once again, there are whispers that owner Dejphon Chansiri is preparing Sheffield Wednesday for a sale, though there have been similar noises on many previous occasions with no resulting transaction.

In 2022/23 Wednesday’s pre-tax loss was virtually unchanged at £7.2m, even though revenue increased by £3.0m (18%) from £16.3m to £19.3m, as this was offset by operating expenses also rising £3.0m (13%) from £23.7m to £26.7m.  Wednesday’s £7.2m loss was one of the highest in League One in 2022/23, though a lot better than Derby County £30.4m and Ipswich Town £18.2m.

Although it’s never great to lose money, Wednesday’s losses in the last two years have been pretty small compared to their recent past and the best by far in the Chansiri era.  Wednesday lost a hefty £132m in the five seasons up to 2020/21, averaging £26m a year.

Wednesday’s revenue will obviously have increased last season following promotion to the Championship, mainly thanks to the higher TV distribution, but also from growth in gate receipts and sponsorships.   The Swiss Ramble’s estimate is that Wednesday would have generated around £27m in the Championship (before the new EFL TV deal), based on higher crowds, a ticket price increase and assumed 5% growth in commercial income.

Wednesday’s average attendance increased 13% from 22,469 to 25,380, reversing a trend of falling crowds. However, this was still below the recent peak of 27,306 in 2016/17.

Following promotion, Wednesday had the seventh highest crowd in the Championship with 26,762. This was actually more than six clubs in the Premier League, so it’s fair to say that Wednesday can be considered as a big club from this perspective.

Wednesday reportedly have the most expensive adult season tickets in the Championship. In 2024/25 the cheapest ticket available cost £460 for early bird customers, rising to a staggering £510 in the final phase.

Wednesday’s wage bill increased by £3.4m (27%) from £12.4m to £15.8m, mainly due to promotion bonuses, though this was still the second lowest in the last eight years. Wednesday will have surely increased wages following promotion in a bid to be competitive in the Championship.

Since Chansiri bought Wednesday from Milan Mandaric in February 2015, he has provided £145m funding. This has been mainly used to cover £97m operating losses, while £19m was spent on players (net), £19m paid off external loans, £5m invested in infrastructure and £3m interest.

Wednesday did well to secure promotion from League One, but life has proved to be tougher in the Championship, especially after Chansiri stopped putting his hand in his pocket.

The accounts have looked better in the last couple of years, but that is partly because of limited investment in the squad, which has made it more difficult for Wednesday to compete.

 

 

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s
1 comment
Read more

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000.  The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.  Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is
Post a Comment
Read more

Spurs to sell minority stake

Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale. Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium. The financier Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be among the parties to have expressed an interest in Tottenham. Staveley’s fund, PCP Capital Partners, has raised about £500 million to depl
Post a Comment
Read more