TV deals fuel football revenue boom
THE region’s 19 Premier League and Football League clubs generated more than £1.3bn last year, an increase of nearly 10% on the previous 12 months.
The increase was driven by the Premier League’s new broadcast deal, which swelled the coffers of leading clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City , Liverpool and Everton, accounting for four of the top 10 biggest clubs by revenue in England.
The data, contained in the 24th Annual Review of Football Finance by Deloitte, shows Manchester United occupying top spot with £433m, Manchester City second with £348m, Liverpool fifth with £256m and Everton eighth with £121m.
Deloitte said more than 7.6 million people had attended at professional club football matches in the region in 2013/14 and that the clubs jointly employed 3,600 full-time staff in the same period.
Although Manchester’s big two were the highest earners of all 92 clubs, they were the biggest spenders on wages as the Reds paid its talent £220m and the Blues £205m.
Emphasising the gulf between the elite clubs and those outside the Premier League, United, City, Liverpool and Everton collectively generated £1.158bn in revenues in the period under review – more than 84% of the total regional haul.
Nationally, it was a record-breaking season as the 20 Premier League clubs grew revenues 29% to £3.26bn in 2012/13. Total Premier League revenue was £1.4bn) higher than the next highest earning league, Germany’s Bundesliga.
The average revenue for a Premier League club in 2013/14 was £163m – just £7m less than the combined revenues of the 22 First Division clubs in 1991/92; the final season before the introduction of the Premier League.
Dan Jones, partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group said: “The impact of the Premier League’s broadcast deal is clear to see. Broadcast income increased by £569m in 2013/14, accounting for 78% of the overall growth in revenue in the Premier League. Continued growth in both commercial and matchday revenue helped Premier League clubs’ combined revenues reach £3.26bn – a staggering increase of £735m compared with the season before.”
Other key findings include:
•Manchester United generated an all-time record operating profit of £117m, whilst Tottenham Hotspur recorded the highest-ever pre-tax profit, of £80m;
•Despite no new stadia opening for the first season since 2004/05, capital expenditure by English football’s 92 league clubs totalled £280m, representing the highest-ever level of investment in stadia and facilities;
•Total transfer expenditure for the 92 English League clubs in 2013/14 topped £1bn for the first time, a record which has already been topped this year;
•Total owner investment at both Chelsea and Manchester City topped £1bn at each club since their respective takeovers;
•The Government’s tax take from the top 92 professional football clubs in 2013/14 was around £1.4bn.
In the Championship, overall revenue increased by 12% to £491m, however, clubs continue to pay more in wages (£518m) than they earned in revenue. The wages/revenue ratio in the second tier was 105% in 2013/14, compared with 106% in 2012/13. This resulted in operating losses of £222m and a combined pre-tax loss of £247m.
