Foxes suffer ‘significant setback’ as club posts £90m loss

Leicester City have slumped to a pre-tax loss of almost £90m for the year to June 30 2023 on the back of the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

The £89.7m loss was down slightly from the £92.5m the Foxes posted in 2022.

Turnover at the King Power decreased from £214.6m to £177.3m. However, commercial revenue increased, with with gate receipts up £1.4m, sponsorship revenue up £1.3m and commercial turnover up by £1m.

The fall in turnover was primarily due to a reduction in Premier League merit payments and broadcast revenues, and the Club’s absence from European competition for the first time in three seasons.

The Club posted a net profit on player trading of £74.8m in the accounting period (£9.2m in 2022), though this increase was offset by a significantly lower-than-budgeted league position and a costly change in first team management structure.

The 2022/23 accounting period shows chairman Khun Aiyawatt’s conversion of £194m of loans and related interest owed to the Club’s parent company, King Power International KPI into equity.

Leicester City chief executive Susan Whelan said: “After a sustained period of growth and success for the Club during the last decade, the 2022/23 season was a significant setback, the consequences of which will be felt for some time. We must now focus on rebuilding and seeking to return to and re-establishing ourselves in the Premier League.

“Having achieved finishing positions in the Premier League of fifth, fifth and eighth in the three preceding seasons, our targets and associated budgets for 2022/23 were entirely reasonable. However, for a club such as ours, whose sustained sporting achievements have justified the levels of investment required to compete with the most established clubs and pursue our ambition, a season of such significant under-performance on the pitch presents financial challenges, particularly from the perspective of the game’s current Profitability and Sustainability rules.

“The long-term and ongoing financial security and commitment provided by Khun Aiyawatt, the Srivaddhanaprabha family and King Power International, enables the Club to rebuild with certainty and confidence. We’re infinitely grateful for the faith and support of our fans, whose commitment and loyalty continue to inspire our mission to restore Leicester City to the level at which we all want it to compete.”