Southampton - profits of £33m - the template to follow?

[Bozza]

Impressive stuff and after years of clubs like Bolton pushing themselves further into debt, despite PL riches, it's encouraging to see a model which does seem to be working...

Southampton made a £33.4m profit last year - the first since the club went into administration in 2009.

The Premier League club's results for the year ending 30 June 2014 showed an increase after a £7.1m loss in 2013.

A record TV rights deal helped total revenue increase from £71.8m to £106m.

The figures do not include fees recouped from the sale of Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert to Liverpool, Luke Shaw to Manchester United and Calum Chambers to Arsenal.

However chief financial officer David Bence said: "The profit from player trading has all been reinvested in transfer fees, player wages and additional football-related costs, in order to support the aspirations of the 2014/15 season."

The annual figures also confirmed that the club has approximately £50m debt, although the balance sheet showed net assets worth £31.8m, compared to liabilities of £1.6m last year.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32127067

 

[Baldseagull]

They went up at a good time, with some good players, then sold and bought well, and sacked and appointed well. All that is far easier said than done, hats off to them, but the profits are the difference in the TV old deal, to the new deal. Even QPR might show a profit for the year/season.

 

[ditchy]

They went up at a good time, with some good players, then sold and bought well, and sacked and appointed well. All that is far easier said than done, hats off to them, but the profits are the difference in the TV old deal, to the new deal. Even QPR might show a profit for the year/season.

Does the TV deal not come in until next year ? if so are they showing future revenues for this ?

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

They made some very bold decisions and it paid off. Fair play to them.

 

[Baldseagull]

Does the TV deal not come in until next year ? if so are they showing future revenues for this ?

The new, new deal comes in 2016/17. The accounts shown are for 2013/14 season, the first season of the £3 Billion deal, up from £1.7 Billion

 

[Bozza]

Does the TV deal not come in until next year ? if so are they showing future revenues for this ?

It will be the accounts for last season (2013-14).

This is the first season of financial reporting for the current TV deal which runs from 2013-16 and was £3.02bn.

The deal from 2010-13 was for £1.77bn, and the deal that runs 2016-19 is for £5.13bn.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

I can't help but feel they made a profit purely because costs haven't had time to rise with the increase in revenue from TV. Once players and agents realise there are clubs making profit, wages will rise again to bring down profits for clubs.

 

[Hotchilidog]

They are certainly now a very well run club. Good conveyor belt of home-grown talent whose value gets maximised in the transfer market, money reinvested in player and new blood given a chance. Managerially very clear what they want and they club sticks to it's footballing ethos. Considering the damage the previous regime did to the club, they are indeed a model for us to follow, particularly with regard to the confidence they show in their youngsters.

 

[El Presidente]

Create the infrastructure with a new stadium and academy to fund sustainable growth. Sell players from that have been successful in the academy for good fees. Show a bit of patience, get promoted, make profits.

Seems like a sensible business model.

 

[Postman Pat]

I assume that the money for the sale of Lallana, Shaw, Lovren, Chambers, Lambert will be in next years accounts?

They did pretty well with the money they got for some of those players, and didn't seem to spend a huge amount on replacements.

 

[ditchy]

The new, new deal comes in 2016/17. The accounts shown are for 2013/14 season, the first season of the £3 Billion deal, up from £1.7 Billion

Thanks .. so its the old new TV deal

 

[ditchy]

Thx Bozza

 

[jabba]

Sky says that does include Shaw and Lambert fees, with 70 million spent on transfers and wages since. Note they also have 50 million debt.

 

[Icy Gull]

Be good to be able to get into this position

However chief financial officer David Bence said: "The profit from player trading has all been reinvested in transfer fees, player wages and additional football-related costs, in order to support the aspirations of the 2014/15 season."

 

[Giraffe]

They kept their best players and manager until they went into the premiership.

We sold out best players and sacked our manager before going into the premiership.

Spot the difference.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Create the infrastructure with a new stadium and academy to fund sustainable growth. Sell players from that have been successful in the academy for good fees. Show a bit of patience, get promoted, make profits.

Seems like a sensible business model.

Sounds good - apart from a club would need alot of patience, even with a new stadium and academy (and maybe even a hotel) in place - to be able to fund sustainable growth from the output from that club's academy. Far more likely to sink without trace through the leagues in the interim unless there's also a top-class recruitment policy in operation.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Brilliant template. Investing in youth is key. I was annoyed when they nicked the Worthing boy. We should meet with them & sign an agreement dividing the South Coast in terms of territory (spaying a line through the middle of Portsmouth to divide scouting rights). We'd have the whole of Sussex, southern Surrey and Kent and some bits of Hampshire. They can have the West Country and shit.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

So we can turn an annual 7? million loss into a 33 million profit by a relatively small investment in the overall financial picture, and dodging FFP like the other clubs.

Time for Tony to sort it out with 1901 renewals looming next summer.