Southampton Reveals ‘difficult’ Finances
Southampton Football Club has published its latest annual results for the year ending 30th June, posting a net loss of £7.1m with new director, Hans Hofstetter, admitting the club’s board have inherited a ‘difficult financial situation’.
The financial results – the first published since the club’s return to the Barclays Premier League – also reveal that Southampton will enter the summer window owing £27m in outstanding transfer fees, while a bill in excess of £30m is pending for their new training ground.
Previous chairman Nicola Cortese resigned in January, with Ralph Krueger replacing him.
Hofstetter, who also joined the board, said in a statement on the club website: ‘Whilst I perceive that we have inherited a difficult situation financially, there are now clear and structured plans in place to progress the club and avoid a similar situation from occurring again.’
The over-spend on the club’s new training ground at Staplewood is also significant, with the expected total cost now more than £30m – up from an original estimate of £15m.
However, the wage-to-turnover ratio has fallen sharply – from 102% to a healthier 65% – after the removal of exceptional bonuses associated with promotion.
Operating profit is up to £8.7m, although that becomes a net loss of £7.1m once transfer expenditure is taken into account.
Commercial income rose from £4.8m to £6.7m after the Saint’s promotion to the top flight.
The Liebherr family, represented by non-executive chairman Katharina, injected a further £12.5m during the financial year, with another £2.2m in September 2013 bringing the total investment to £52.7m. However, £37.9m of that has been converted into equity shares, bringing the club’s net liabilities down to £1.6m from £32.4m in 2012.
Southampton beat Newcastle United 4-0 over the weekend to leapfrog the Magpies into 8th place in the league with six games to go.
