The authoritative Swiss Ramble swoops like an eagle from his Zurich eyre to review the latest accounts of Crystal Palace. More detail and analysis are available on his Substack page, but here are some highlights.
Palace’s recent improvement in cup competitions is
impressive, but their consistency in the league is also fairly remarkable,
especially for a club with relatively limited resources, as they have finished
between 10th and 15th thirteen years in a row following promotion to the
Premier League in 2012/13
Palace also enjoyed a very successful season off the pitch,
as they swung from a £32.9m pre-tax loss to an £8.3m profit, mainly due to a
significant increase in profit on player sales from £1.3m to a club record
£66.1m.
Revenue rose £6.4m (3%) from £190.2m to another club high of
£196.6m, though this was more than wiped out by operating expenses, which grew
£28.2m (13%) from £210.9m to £239.1m. As a result, the operating loss more than
doubled from £20.7m to £42.5m.
The revenue growth was driven by commercial, which rose
£7.7m (25%) from £31.0m to £38.7m, while gate receipts increased £1.8m (13%)
from £13.8m to £15.6m. On the other hand, broadcasting fell £3.2m (2%) from
£145.5m to £142.3m, due to a lower league position.
Palace’s £8.3m pre-tax profit was effectively the third best
result in the Premier League in 2024/25, only behind Liverpool and Bournemouth,
who made £15m apiece. The main reason
for the substantial improvement in Palace’s bottom line was a hefty £66.1m
profit on player sales, compared to just £1.3m the previous year.
Palace’s £197m revenue is still in the bottom half of the
Premier League, with a fairly large £25m gap to tenth placed rivals Brighton
£222m. For some context, they were
miles below the Big Six, around half a billion pounds less than the top three
clubs, namely Liverpool £703m, Manchester City £694m and Arsenal £690m.
Revenue comparisons
Nevertheless, Palace’s revenue was enough to secure them
24th place in the Deloitte Money League, which ranks clubs globally. The Eagles
have been in the top 30 in all but one of the last nine seasons, which is a
fine achievement. This put them above
many of the traditional leading European clubs, such as Roma, Marseille and
Sevilla.
Palace have already earned €17.3m (£15.2m) this season after
reaching the Conference League final, made up of participation fee €3.2m, prize
money €11.2m and value pillar €2.9m (the replacement for the old TV pool and
UEA coefficient). If they do manage to
win the trophy by defeating Rayo Vallecano, they would earn another €3.0m, but
the real prize for the bean counters would be qualification for next season’s
Europa League.
Of course, Palace would still be entitled to have a slightly
bitter taste in the mouth, as their earnings would have been much higher if
they had been allowed to take their rightful place in the Europa League after
winning the FA Cup.
The low match day revenue is behind the club’s decision to
build a new Main Stand at Selhurst Park.
Currently, Palace only earn around £0.7m a game, which is significantly
lower than the likes of Manchester United £5.3m, Arsenal £5.1m, Tottenham £4.4m
and Liverpool £4.3m. The project was
initially estimated to cost £100m, according to a Bloomberg report, but various
issues have pushed the cost beyond £150m.
Palace’s wage bill rose £14.6m (11%) from £133.7m to
£148.3m, which was easily a new high for the club. The increase was driven
principally by bonuses for the FA Cup success, as well as higher payroll taxes
and more pay to casual staff. Until last
year’s rise, Palace’s wages had hardly moved in five years, as the club has
managed to restrain wages growth, largely by releasing out of contract
expensive players and replacing them with younger talent on lower wages.
Palace spent £83m on player purchases in 2024/25, which was
a bit less than the previous season’s £90m outlay.
Palace’s gross debt decreased by £36m from £158m to £122m,
as £50m of the debt owed to the parent company was waived, leaving a balance of
£26m. This was partially offset by a rise in external debt, up £14m from £81m
to £95m. This included £64m advances
from a funding agreement with MGG Investment Group (secured on Premier League
TV money), a £30m bank loan and £2m finance leases.
Financial acumen
Palace have long been admired for their financial acumen,
which was further evidenced by being one of the few clubs to generate a profit
in 2024/25, after delivering record revenue.
The stadium development is a costly exercise, but will help
grow match day and commercial income, thus reducing the reliance on TV money.
The replacement of short-term, high interest loans with the Goldman Sachs
facility is a good move.
Some fans will probably feel frustrated at the club’s
caution in the transfer market, but Palace’s achievement in surviving in the
Premier League for so long should not be under-stated, especially given their
relatively small financial resources.
Of course, supporters will look at this in terms of success
on the pitch, so Palace’s FA Cup win will resonate most strongly with them. If
they win the Conference League on Wednesday to secure their second trophy in
two years, that would be a fine achievement – and the icing on the cake for the
club’s approach. Good luck!
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