Man City’s losses leap to £195m
MANCHESTER City Football Club revealed a record-breaking annual loss of £194.9m, and pledged such figures would not be repeated.
The club -currently top of the Barlcays Premier League – saw impressive turnover growth in the year to the end of May from £125m to £153.1m, but the size of the loss – up from £126.1m in 2010 – are the largest ever seen in English football.
Chief operating officer Graham Wallace said: “Our losses, which we predicted as part of our accelerated investment strategy, will not be repeated on this scale in the future.
“Consistent with the club’s transformation strategy, and the stated ambition of commercial sustainability, these financial results represent the bottoming out of financial losses at Manchester City before the club is able to move towards a more sustainable position in all aspects of its operations in the years ahead.”
The figures do not include last summer’s transfer spending, or the impact of the new £25m a year sponsorship and stadium naming rights agreement with Middle East airline Etihad.
City said commercial revenue had risen 49.7% to £48.5m. Television income thanks to its third place Premier League finish, a run to the last 16 of the Europa League, increased 27.4% to £68.8m.
Wages and salary payments rose from £118.4m to £153.6m in the year while the financial package of the highest paid director – the now departed chief executive Garry Cook- rose from £1.8m to £2.08m.
The club, owned for the last three years by Abu Dhabii royal Sheikh Mansour, said £176.7m of new equity had been pumped into the club coffers in 2010-11 and a further £114.2m since the year end.
