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Income nears £250m for North East’s top three football clubs

The North East’s top three football clubs generated combined revenue of almost £250m in 2013/14, according to the 24th Annual Review of Football Finance from the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

Newcastle United’s revenue of £130m (up 35 per cent on the previous year) was the seventh highest in the Premier League and put them 19th overall in the 2015 Deloitte report, which covers the top leagues in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France.

Sunderland AFC generated revenue of £104m in 2013/14 (an increase of 38 per cent), which was the 12th highest total in the Premier League, while Middlesbrough’s revenue was £13.2m.

Newcastle United and Sunderland had operating profits of £24m and £11m respectively, while Middlesbrough reported an operating loss of £17m.

The Magpies achieved the third highest average league attendance in the Premier League in 2013/14, with an average of 50,666 fans attending games at St James’ Park, while the Black Cats were in seventh place, with an average attendance at the Stadium of Light of 41,272.

The Deloitte report found that the 20 Premier League clubs generated a record £3.26 billion in revenue – up 29 per cent on 2012/13 – with a record total operating profit of £614m and record pre-tax profits of £187m.

The average revenue for a Premier League club in 2013/14 was £163m, which is just £7m less than the combined revenues of all 22 First Division clubs in 1991/92 – the final season before the introduction of the Premier League.

The record-breaking totals were fuelled by the impact of the first year of the Premier League’s new broadcast rights cycle, according to Deloitte.

Dan Jones, Partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, explained: “The impact of the Premier League’s broadcast deal is clear to see. Broadcast income increased by £569m in 2013/14, accounting for 78 per cent 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 £3.26 billion – a staggering increase of £735m compared with the season before.”

However, the picture for Championship clubs is less rosy.

Although overall revenues for the 24 Championship clubs increased by 12 per cent to £491m, they paid more in wages (£518m) than they earned in revenue. This resulted in total operating losses of £222m and a combined pre-tax loss of £247m.

Adam Bull, Senior Consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Championship clubs continue to deliver some alarming financial results. The desire of individual clubs to reach the promised land of the Premier League is understandable, and heightened given the value of the new broadcast deals, but the Football League is right to try and ensure this is not at the expense of the long-term sustainability of any club.”

The Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance 2015 also found that the 92 Premier League and Football League clubs contributed around £1.4 billion in taxes in 2013/14.