Only four of the 20 English Premier League football teams made a pre-tax profit this season, according to an annual review by accountants Deloitte, as soaring broadcast revenues were offset by rising wages and amortization of player purchases.
Brighton & Hove Albion were the most profitable, posting a pre-tax profit of £133 million, followed by Manchester City with £80 million, AFC Bournemouth with £44 million and Brentford with £9 million. Seven clubs were profitable the previous season.
Aston Villa reported the highest pre-tax loss of £120 million, according to the review, while the other 15 clubs generated an average pre-tax loss of £58 million.
Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance, available on its website, said all 20 clubs’ combined revenue increased by 11% to an all-time high of £6.1 billion, largely driven by increased broadcast revenue with the commencement of the Premier League’s new international rights agreements and getting more money from commercial sponsors and fans.
Broadcast revenue increased 9% to £3.2 billion, due to higher distributions to clubs from the Premier League’s new, lucrative international broadcast deals that run to 2024/25.
Offsetting that, rising wage costs and amortisation of prior player acquisitions increased 14% to £685 million.
Commercial revenue hit a record of just under £2 billion, chiefly driven by the Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs, with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur showing the largest increases.
Matchday revenue, including tickets and shirts, increased 14% to £867 million, as stadiums were largely full, a new record average league attendance of 40,291 was set and the majority of clubs increased their ticket prices.
“It remains to be seen what impact those price rises will have on fan sentiment and the ability of the fan to spend across a club’s offerings and channels, a factor which must be considered when ticket price strategies are developed,” Deloitte’s review said.
Net debt increased by £473 million to £3.1 billion, largely driven by funding for clubs’ infrastructure projects. A portion of this increase is attributable to the mix of clubs promoted to/relegated from the Premier League compared to the previous season.