Ipswich £35M in Debt. Lost £10 M Past Yr. Delaney

[QPR Report]

Telegraph/Oliver Brown

Ipswich Town's debt passes £35 million under Marcus Evans's ownership

Ipswich Town made a loss of £10.3 million in the 12 months to June this year, bringing their total debt to more than £35 million as the effects of Marcus Evans's ownership of the club were realised.

The figures were disclosed on Monday night in an information sheet provided to shareholders in the plc, which owns 12.5 per cent of Ipswich, ahead of the annual meeting on Nov 24.

The £6 million rise in Ipswich's debt was little surprise in light of the transformation in the club's finances since the takeover by Evans, a hotel entrepreneur worth in excess of £200 million, in December 2007.

The appointment of Roy Keane as manager is alone costing £3 million over two seasons, despite Ipswich winning just one of their first 15 league games this term.

Player and coaching staff costs have risen from £8.3 million to £11.8 million under Evans's ownership, while turnover has fallen from £15.8 million to £14.7 million.

Adding to the grim set of financial results was the failure to secure a loan move for Hull midfielder George Boateng.

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/championship/ipswich/6489871/Ipswich-Towns-debt-passes--35-million-under-Marcus-Evanss-ownership.html

[QPR Report]

Don't follow enough (hasn't been enough published yet) to see if our current manager was in any way responsible for any of this!

[Zamoraaaah]

Ipswich are amateurs.

We've lost more than that without paying big transfer fees.

[QPR Report]

That's why we got to get into the Premiership where the big money losses can be made!

From the Guardian piece I posted on the other thread

".....Pearson took up his position in an official capacity on Monday after succeeding Paul Duffen, who resigned as the chairman and chief executive last week when it emerged Hull had debts of £27m. Pearson needs to find around £18m before the end of the season to make sure Hull remain solvent and his first task will be to reduce a wage bill of £40m –...

Pearson, who oversaw an annual wage bill of only £3.5m before he left Hull, then in the Championship, in 2007 having appointed Brown the previous year, has vowed to get the club back on track and is confident of solving the problems he has inherited. He has launched an internal investigation into every transfer the club have completed during the past two years amid reports that £5.5m has been spent on agents' fees, including £500,000 in the purchase of Jimmy Bullard from Fulham..."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/02/hull-adam-pearson-phil-brown

[Zamoraaaah]

More amateurs. When we get to the promised land Gianni will make those payments to agents look like chicken feed.

[cpr]

Ipswich can expect to be 50 mill in debt by the time Keane walks out and no better of with regard to players.

[Zamoraaaah]

Everyone makes millions of pounds and the club is left with the debt and round they go again.

But when the music stops...

[QPR Report]

Further details

Lowestoft Journal - Ipswich Town wages soar by £3m

03 November 2009

THE full extent of the multi-million pound investment into Ipswich Town Football Club by owner Marcus Evans is revealed today in new figures which show the soaring costs of players' wages.

Last season, the costs of the playing and coaching staff at Portman Road rocketed by more than £3.5 million, from £8.3 million to £11.9 million.

The increased costs were due to an influx of high-profile players on big wages as multi-millionaire Evans invested heavily in his ambition to get Ipswich promoted to the Premier League. The team are currently bottom of the Championship table.

Overall, Ipswich Town lost £10 million in the year ending on June 30. While such a result would be disastrous for most businesses, it is relatively insignificant in the business empire of Evans, who is reputedly worth some £400 million.

The big increase in costs came on the playing side, as former manager Jim Magilton and Evans invested in players in an unsuccessful bid for promotion.

These included Spanish defender Ivan Campo, who is no longer at the club, Ben Thatcher, goalkeeper Richard Wright, Kevin Lisbie, currently on loan at Colchester, Jon Stead, Luciano Civelli, and Gareth McAuley.

The likes of David Norris and Alan Quinn also joined the playing staff in the months leading up to the previous summer, so their presence would have also added to the wage bill.

The new figures, released to shareholders, show an operating loss of £10.321m compared to the £4.295m loss from the previous 12 months.

Since last summer a further £7.2m has been spent on buying players, including Grant Leadbitter (£2.65m from Sunderland), Tamas Priskin (£1.7m from Watford), Carlos Edwards (£1.35m from Sunderland), Lee Martin (undisclosed fee from Manchester United), Colin Healy (undisclosed fee from Cork City), and Damien Delaney (down payment of £750,000 from QPR).

Roy Keane's appointment as manager to succeed the sacked Jim Magilton will also have added to the wage bill.

By contrast, just £900,000 has been received from the sale of players during this period.

Gate receipts were slightly up on last season, despite the drop in average League match attendance (from 21,932 to 20,864). This was due to an extended Carling Cup run and a profitable FA Cup fourth round match at Chelsea.

The Football League income was also down on last year, from £2.291m to £1.935m, because of the fewer TV home matches and also the lower solidarity award from the Premier League.

In the note to shareholders, the club says it “remains dependent on ongoing financing provided by the Marcus Evans Group”. It also makes an indirect reference to its financial woes of six years ago, when the club went into administration, leaving many local creditors out of pocket, saying: “The club recognises its unique position in the community and, bearing in mind its recent financial history, feels it should make fans aware of its financial position and the prudent measures under which the club's finances are managed.”

Lowestoft Journal
www.lowestoftjournal.co.uk/content/lowestoftjournal/news/story.aspx?brand=LOWOnline&category=NEWS&tBrand=lowonline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED03%20Nov%202009%2009%3A06%3A03%3A190

[ingham]

Interesting last paragraph. I wondered how they could be only £35 million in debt now after a spending spree when they were already at least £30 million in debt five or six years ago, but it looks as though they welshed on their debts, reminding us how how responsible and trustworthy these people are.

But they had special arrangements with their creditors, agreeing to pay them all off (unusual) long-term. So either those debts are still in place, or they somehow paid off £30 million while losing £35 million, or they simply jettisoned the old debts and the old creditors - despite all the big talk of paying everyone back - only to create more financial mayhem.

But look what they have to show for it.

[QPR Report]

On the other hand, there are a lot of millionaire footballers these days!

[camel]

No wonder Keane has received the vote of confidence from the board.

They probably can't afford to sack the useless tosser!