Deloitte report reveals £790m NW football revenues
THE North West’s 22 football clubs generated nearly £800m in revenue between 2007 and 2008, and are set to continue to grow despite the recession, a football industry expert said today.
The latest Annual Review of Football Finance from the Manchester-based Sport Business Group at accountants Deloitte, reveal that this figure is nearly one third (32%) of the total revenue of £2.5bn generated by all 92 league clubs.
Deloitte partner Dan Jones, head of the sports business group, said the North West’s influence will have been at a similar scale in the season just finished, but will be higher thanks to Burnley’s promotion to the the richest league in the world.
“The North West has got a very, very strong position in the football market and one that will be enhanced by Burnley’s promotion. It’s a great story. The promotion will add something like £60m to a club with a turnover at the moment of around £10m.
“It will benefit the whole town – last year the Hull chairman described his club’s promotion to the Premier League as ‘the best piece of advertising the city could hope for’ and the same will be true for Burnley in terms of massive international exposure.”
The Deloitte reports reveals that four of the top 10 Premiership clubs by revenue are based in the region. Manchester United was top of the tree with £257m during 2007-8, Liverpool fourth with £164m, Manchester City seventh with £82m, and Everton eighth with £76m.
Top 10 North West clubs by revenue: 2007/08
| Club |
Revenue £’m |
Uplift on prior year |
|
| 1 | Manchester United |
257.1 |
21% |
| 2 | Liverpool |
164.2 |
23% |
| 3 | Manchester City |
82.3 |
45% |
| 4 | Everton |
75.7 |
47% |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers |
59.1 |
16% |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers |
56.4 |
30% |
| 7 | Wigan Athletic |
43.5 |
59% |
| 8 | Burnley |
8.8 |
26% |
| 9 | Preston North End |
8.5 |
7% |
| 10 | Blackpool |
7.2 |
50% |
Source: Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance
Asked about the impact of the recession on clubs’ income streams, Mr Jones said: “Sponsorship and corporate hospitality are the two areas where the downturn may be felt hardest.
“At the top level I think demand will be strong – Manchester United I think remain a very attractive prospect for shirt-front sponsorship – but last season we saw some clubs playing without a sponsor because they couldn’t get the right deal, and this may continue.”
He said there was a “fundamental misunderstanding” in some sections of the media and society that all football clubs outside the Premier League were in some way the ‘poor relations’.
“Income during 2007 to 2008 was up in all the leagues, there has never been more money in the game.
“The English Championship is actually the bigger in revenue terms than the top leagues of Holland and Scotland and attracts bigger crowds than La Liga in Spain.
“There is a myth that you can’t run a solvent club in division one or two. It is impossible if the club is managed badly and the club over-spends, but quite possible if it is run properly.”
Other key findings of the review include:
• The total European football market grew by £1.1bn to £11.6bn in 2007/08.
• Premier League clubs generated the highest revenue (£1.9bn) of any league in
Europe in 2007/08, followed by Germany, Spain and Italy (each £1.1 bn), and France (£800m).
• English clubs have regained their status as the most profitable in the world having lost this title to the Bundesliga in 2006/07.
• Total revenues for the 72 Football League clubs exceeded £500m for the first time. These will be boosted from the coming season by an improved broadcasting deal and the presence of Newcastle United. The enhanced broadcasting revenues should help Championship clubs address record losses which reached £102m in 2007/08.
• Net debt in respect of Premier League clubs increased to £3.1bn in 2007/08 up from £2.7bn the previous season.
• The Government’s tax take from the top 92 professional football clubs rose to £860m and will exceed £1bn per year with the introduction of the 50% rate for earnings over £150,000.
