Member Article

Chelsea named first club to report net debt of £1bn

Chelsea FC has been named the first club to report a net debt of £1bn, with an increase of £57m in soft loans owed to Roman Abramovich during the 2013/14 season.

In spite of the club’s transfer policy, bringing in money for key players like Romelu Lukaku and Andre Schurrle, it failed to offset its massive debt according to Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance.

The four UEFA Champions League clubs plus Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur contribute 78% of the Premier League’s commercial revenue.

Tottenham Hotspur also reported the highest ever pre-tax profit of £80m, while Manchester United saw record operating profit of £117m.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were amongst nine Premier League clubs improved their net debt/ funds position over the course of the 2013/14 season.

For the 18 clubs in the Championship in both 2012/13 and 2013/14, matchday and commercial revenue increased by a combined £6m.

However, it has clearly been challenging for Football League clubs to grow or maintain revenue from these sources.

The slight (7%) reduction in Championship clubs’ operating losses to total £222m in no way obscures the fact that they remain a significant issue. Pre-tax losses were £247m in 2013/14, an average per club of £10m.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .