Foxes’ turnover could top £200m next season, says Deloitte

Midlands clubs in the Premier League and Football League generated over £0.5bn in revenue during the 2014/15 season, according to the Annual Review of Football Finance from Deloitte.

The Midlands’ 18 Premier League and Football League clubs had combined revenue of around £540m in 2014/15, equivalent to around 13% of the £4.1bn total revenue generated by the top 92 clubs in English football.

This was the first time that all 92 clubs had broken through the £4bn barrier.

Leicester City were the top East Midlands club as far as revenue was concerned, turning over £104m – the 12th highest in the report, and a huge 235% rise from the 2013/14 season. The Foxes made an operating profit of £35m – the highest of any Midlands club, and the seventh highest in all four leagues.

Leicester City’s revenue is likely to rise to at least £175m in 2016/17, and could climb to over £200m depending on performances domestically and in Europe.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “The pace of football’s financial growth in two and a half decades is staggering. By half-time of the second televised Premier League game next year, more broadcast revenue will have been generated than during the whole of the First Division season 25 years ago. It is particularly reassuring to see that clubs are looking to spend on improving stadia and infrastructure.

“The impact of the Premier League’s broadcast deal is clear to see. For the first time, the Premier League leads the football world in all three key revenue categories – commercial, matchday and broadcast – and this is driving sustainable profitability. When the enhanced new broadcast deals commence in the 2016/17 season, operating profits could rise as high as £1 billion.”

Derby County turned over £21.5m during the 2014/15 season (a rise of 6%), whilst Nottingham Forest took £15.9m (up 7%).