Venky’s investment in Blackburn Rovers reaches £184m
The parent company of Blackburn Rovers Football Club lost £20m in the year to 31 March 2022, taking the overall losses by Indian chicken and pharma group Venky’s to £184m since they bought the club in 2010.
The Championship club’s sale of Adam Armstrong to Southampton, and a land deal with an associated subsidiary meant that Venky’s London Limited recorded a small profit, but the overall picture is still of huge operational losses and a wage bill in excess of income.
The club now rent the training ground at Brockhall, just outside Blackburn, from a subsidiary of the owners for £273, 827.
A share issue worth £17m and borrowings of £8m funded the club through a season where they finished 8th.
The annual results filed at Companies House also reveal that the income increased significantly as crowds returned to football stadiums post-pandemic. The club claimed £762,000 in grants, such as payments to furlough staff, and an insurance claim worth £562,000.
Player wages still represent the largest outgoing, running at £146 for every £100 made in income.
The club’s business model is to develop local talent through the Academy, and to trade players at a profit. Chilean international striker Ben Brereton Diaz is attracting interest from Premier League clubs and overseas scouts following his remarkable goals tally and starring role in the 2022 Copa America. However, his contract ends in the summer of 2023, when he could leave for free.
