A Prem Club-by-Club Look at Finances (Bump)

Part II

Manchester City
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2008


Ownership 90% owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family


Turnover £82.3m (up from £57m the previous year, an increase of 44%)

Gate and match-day £13.6m

TV and broadcasting £43.3m

Commercial activities £25.4m


Wage bill £54.2m (up from £36.4m the previous year, an increase of 49%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 66%


Loss before tax £32.6m

Debts £147m

Interest payable £10.7m

Highest paid director Alistair Mackintosh: £477,000


State they're in Looked to be heading over a cliff in August last year, with the owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from corruption charges in Thailand of which he was subsequently found guilty. Shinawatra's assets were frozen even before he took the club over, City's debts were mounting, the club borrowed a further £25m against the forthcoming season's TV money, then their worries were all wiped away with a wave of an oil sheikh's chequebook.



Manchester United
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2008


Ownership Malcolm Glazer and his family via Red Football Limited Parnership and Red Football General Partner Inc, both registered in the low tax State of Nevada, USA


Turnover £256.2m (from 210.1m the previous year, an increase of 22%)

Gate and match-day £101.5m

TV and broadcasting £90.7m

Commercial activities £64m


Wage bill £121.1m (up from £92.3m the previous year, an increase of 31.2%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 47%


Loss before tax £44.8m

Debts £699m

Interest payable £69m

Highest paid director David Gill: £1.739m


State it's in The still-extraordinary spectacle of the "leveraged buyout". The Glazer family bought the world's richest club in 2005, then loaded it with the costs of their own takeover, and despite the glittering success over which they have since presided, the debts have continued to mount. By 2008, a staggering £263m in interest alone had become payable, yet the capital United owe had actually grown to £699m, because some of the interest, at high rates, accumulates. These massive debts are not threatening the club financially while it remains successful, but it is painful to think of the other uses to which United's vast earnings could have been put.



Middlesbrough
Accounts for the year to 31 December 2007


Ownership Steve Gibson via his company, Gibson O'Neill, of which he owns 75%


Turnover £48m (the same figure as the previous year)

Gate receipts £11.1m

Sponsorship and commercial £7.5m

TV & broadcasting £27m

Merchandising £2.4m


Wage bill £34.8m (the same as the previous year)

Wages as proportion of turnover 73%


Loss before tax £8.3m

Debts £93m

Interest payable £7.2m

Highest paid director Gibson is the sole director and does not take a salary from the football club


State they're in The debts of £93m, the result of Middlesbrough trying to punch above their weight for years, look alarming for a relegated club. Middlesbrough insiders, however, say the borrowings have been reduced since these accounts to below £30m. The owner-chairman Steve Gibson is expected to invest further, although the plan to balance the books next season by selling Stewart Downing has been ruptured by Downing's ankle injury in the penultimate game of the season.



Newcastle United
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2008


Ownership Mike Ashley via his company, St James Holdings Limited


Turnover £100.8m (up from £87m the previous year, a 16% increase)

Gate and match-day £32.3m

TV and broadcasting £41.1m

Commercial activities £27.4m


Wage bill £74.6m (up from £56.7m the previous year, a 31.6% increase)

Wages as proportion of turnover 74%


Loss before tax £34m

Debts £106.2m (£100m is owed to Mike Ashley)

Interest payable £6.6m

Highest paid director Chris Mort, paid £1.357m via his law firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer


State it's in A calamity. Mike Ashley could have been a hero. After buying the club for £134m in 2007, he repaid, with cash, around £94m of debts. Newcastle are almost debt-free, although Ashley paid the money off by lending £100m to the club himself, interest free, which has to be repaid if the ownership changes. Yet after appointments and decisions he admits himself have been awful and which led to relegation, he has not been thanked very fulsomely for his contribution. If he does not sell quickly, Ashley will need to stump up more if financial collapse is to be avoided next season.



Portsmouth
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2008


Ownership Miland Development (2004) Limited, a British Virgin Islands company, which is controlled by Alexandre Gaydamak


Turnover £70.5m (up from £40.2m the previous year, an increase of 75%)

Gate and Matchday £12m

TV and Broadcasting £51.2m

Sponsorship £4m

Retail £3.3m


Wage bill £54.7m (up from £36.9m the previous year, an increase of 48.2%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 78%


Loss before tax £17m

Debts £57.7m

Interest payable £6.6m

Highest paid director Peter Storrie: £1.2m


State they're in Pompey illustrate why every middling football club is begging for a takeover. Having overstretched to furnish Harry Redknapp with the formidable squad that won the FA Cup last season, the owner, Alexandre Gaydamak, has been hit by the recession and can no longer fund the club. Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe had to be sold in January to reduce bank borrowings, debts grew to around £65m, and Portsmouth were preparing to tighten belts until the chief executive, Peter Storrie, shook hands with Sulaiman Al Fahim. Fratton Park now expects it to rain oil money.



Stoke City
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2008


Ownership bet365 Group, the online gambling company which is owned by the chairman, Peter Coates, and his family


Turnover (2007-08, in the Championship) £11.2m (up from £7.9m the previous year, an increase of 41%)


Wage bill £11.9m (up from £7m the previous year, an increase of 70%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 106%


Loss before tax £5.6m

Debts £2.3m

Interest payable £49,000

Highest paid director No director was paid a salary in 2007-08


State they're in The financial picture of a club pushing for promotion from the Championship. Stoke are backed by Peter Coates and his family, who own the online gambling company, bet365. The Coates put £10m cash into the club, and supported it to make a loss and pay wages beyond the club's turnover. With the investment shrewdly managed by Tony Pulis, Stoke have the advantage of being debt-free next season when seeking to consolidate in the Premier League.



Sunderland
Accounts for the year to 31 July 2008


Ownership Announced last week that Ellis Short, who is based in Dallas, is to take over 100%


Turnover £63.6m (up from £26m the previous year, an increase of 144%)

Gate and match-day £13.6m

TV and broadcasting £35.6m

Sponsorship and royalties £8.3m

Commercial activities £6.1m


Wage bill £37.1m (up from £23.7m, an increase of 57%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 58%


Loss before tax £4.9m

Debts £69.2m

Interest payable £3.9m

Highest paid director Niall Quinn: £939,317


State they're in Apart from desperately seeking Premier League survival, the chairman Niall Quinn's consuming priority this year has been to secure the investment of the US businessman Ellis Short. The club is overspending, with £16.8m loaned from the Irish Drumaville consortium, and their fortunes have diminished in the downturn. Promotion to the Premier League brought the TV windfall, but Sunderland lost almost £5m and debts rose close to £70m. Sunderland's fanbase is also vulnerable to the recession, so Quinn was mightily pleased last week to announce that Short is to take 100% ownership and invest further.



Tottenham Hotspur
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2008


Ownership 82% owned by Enic International Limited, registered in the Bahamas, a tax haven. Chairman Daniel Levy an d family own 29.41% of Enic. The controlling owner is Joe Lewis, resident in the Bahamas.


Turnover £114.7m (up from £103.1m the previous year, an increase of 11.34%)

Gate and match-day £28.6m

TV and broadcasting £40.3m

Sponsorship and corporate hospitality £27.8m

Merchandising £9.7m

Commercial activities £8.3m


Wage bill £52.9m (up from £43.8m in 2007, an increase of 20.8%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 46%


Profit before tax £3m

Debts £65m

Interest payable £3.95m

Highest paid director Daniel Levy: £1m


State they're in Fifth highest turnover in the Premier League, but Spurs have serially failed to convert that financial power into consistent performances on the field. They can be expected to keep traditionally high-spending manager, Harry Redknapp, happy by handing him funds again this summer. In a bid to propel the club towards the top four, Spurs plan to build a new White Hart Lane with 58,000 seats with a scheme including a supermarket, hotel, leisure, retail, and 450 apartments. They declared a dividend of 4p per share last year, which meant the club paid £2.5m to Enic, the holding company owned by Daniel Levy and Joe Lewis.



West Bromwich Albion
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2008


Ownership Over 50% owned by the chairman, Jeremy Peace


Turnover (2007-08, in the Championship): £27.2m (up from £24m the previous year, an increase of 13% mainly due to increased parachute payments)

Gate and matchiday £7m

Merchandising £2.2m

TV and broadcasting £14m

Other commercial income £4m


Wage bill £21.8m (up from £17.4m the previous year, an increase of 25%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 80%


Profit before tax £11.3m

Debts £8.9m

Interest payable £91,000

Highest paid director Jeremy Peace: £625,000


State they're in This is the portrait of a former Premier League club pushing for promotion in the Championship, with the benefit of parachute payments, which increased by £4.5m during the year. West Bromwich carry little debt, have reduced ticket prices, and under Jeremy Peace's chairmanship do not gamble when they are promoted. Can be expected to be strong in the Championship next season and to yo-yo back up while still under the Premier League's parachute canopy.



West Ham United
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2007 (accounts for 2007-08 have been delayed)


Ownership Owned in Iceland, by the chairman, Bjorgulfur Gudmundsson, via two companies, Hansa ehf and Olafsfell ehf


Turnover £57m (down from £60.1m in 2006, a drop of 5.2%)

Gate and match-day £17m

TV and broadcasting £24m

Catering and corporate hospitality £5m

Commercial activities £9m

Retail and Merchandising £2m


Wage bill £44.2m (up from 31.2m in 2006, an increase of 41%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 76%


Loss before tax £22m

Debts £36m

Interest payable £2m

Highest paid director Paul Aldridge: £649,000 (Includes £521,000 for leaving West Ham on December 4 2006)


State they're in West Ham's owner, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, is football ownership's highest profile genuine victim of the global economic crisis, his fortune gone the way of his country, Iceland's, economy – wiped out. The club is in the hands of his holding company's controlling banks, yet they have not put pressure on the club's finances or forced a sale because West Ham is the only valuable asset in the Gudmundsson portfolio. The banks, and the Icelandic courts, have allowed it protection, so that they can maintain a decent price when they finally sell it.



Wigan Athletic
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2008


Ownership Dave Whelan and family, via Whelco Holdings, registered in the UK


Turnover £43m (up from 27m the previous year, an increase of 59.2%)


Wage bill £38.4m (up from £27.5m the previous year, an increase of 39.6%)

Wages as proportion of turnover 89%


Loss before tax £11.2m

Debts £66.4m

Interest payable £1.7m

Highest paid director Brenda Spencer, amount not declared


State they're in Wigan Athletic are where they are, in the JJB Stadium and in the Premier League, solely due to the patronage of local market trader made good, Dave Whelan. Interest free loans from his holding company were increased to £35.6m, and Wigan were given another unsecured loan of £7.5m assumed to have come from Whelan. Barclays Bank maintained their funding at £23m because of Whelan's backing. The accounts make it clear that Wigan, who expect to continue to make losses, would not be solvent without Whelan's financial backing.

And the Premiership-Championship Gap

Football Fan Census

F.C. BusinessFanzine Awards4 Jun 2009Sunderland accounts show wealth gap between Premier League and Championship
Football Clubs News | Football Finance News | Football Sponsors/ Sponsorship and Media

Recent accounts published by Sunderland show the extent of the financial differences of a club being in the English Premier League instead of the Championship, it has been argued.

Sunderland recently announced that their losses diminished from £13.6 million when in the Championship to just £2.2 million over the 2007/08 season – their first year back in the top flight.

Meanwhile, the club's football sponsorship revenue doubled, TV revenue increased and gate receipts also swelled by more than 50 per cent.

Football finance expert Professor Tom Cannon, of Buckingham Business School, has indicated that there is no longer a financial gap between the top two divisions, it is now a "chasm".

He said: "It is incredibly simple. If you're in the Premier League you pocket at least £30 million more in television money.

"Then there is the additional sponsorship income and the additional gate money. A club's income can increase threefold moving from the Championship into the Premier League."

Ellis Short recently took over as the owner of Sunderland, buying the shares he did not already have in the club from the Niall Quinn consortium.

Written by Paul Roberts
www.footballfanscensus.com/football-industry-news/go/item/19201813

Yes, and, of course, the Premiership is free.

There are no costs at all, it seems. Well, only in the Championship. Players perform gratis in the top flight.. That's why Chelsea, City and United have lost, what? About £2.5 billion between them. In just the last few years, too.

And, strangely enough, just when the really big money became available. Like the players, the big money is so tempting to speculators that they are willing to gamble each Club's future for years and maybe decades ahead, just to show prospective buyers of their shares HOW MUCH IS COMING IN.

Outgoings, mate? Hardly anything. Trust me, I'm the chairman of a football club.

Difficult to see how Club finances will ever add up if the only issue is how much they get. Those 3 promotion/relegation slots are fine, accommodating just 6 Clubs at a time, but what about the other 30 or 40 or 50 wannabes who are racking up losses - look at Sunderland's single-season deficit - merely trying to get there. QPR a choice example.

What's the cost:

(a) of keeping out of the bottom 3 if you're in the Prem, and

(b) getting into the top 3 of the second tier if you're not.

Was that £13 million loss at Sunderland wiped out by a £2 million profit?

And why so LITTLE? Why did they LOSE £13 million in the lower tier, and ONLY MAKE £2 million in the top tier.