April 20 – The new Premier League TV deal came in the nick of time for the English top division’s 20 clubs, which have run up an aggregate loss in 2015-16 after two seasons of impressive profits.
New analysis from professional service firm Deloitte’s sports business group has put aggregate pre-tax losses for the clubs at £110 million on combined revenues of £3.6 billion.
With revenue set to surge again in 2016-17, however, these figures may turn out to be a temporary setback. Said Dan Jones, partner and sports business group head: “We fully expect that the Premier League’s new three-year broadcast rights deal will see a return to record levels of profitability in the 2016-17 season.”
While full analysis will need to await the arrival of the last couple of stragglers’ accounts at Companies House, it looks like Manchester United have unseated bitter rivals Liverpool at the head of the latest profits table, with a pre-tax figure of £48.8 million.
Relegated Aston Villa look like ending up bottom of the pile, with a pre-tax loss of £80.7 million, ahead of current title favourites Chelsea with a loss of £69.8 million.
The £79.6 million of exceptional items included by Midlands-based Villa were a big component in the overall divisional loss. Deloitte said that while wage costs were up 12% at £2.3 billion, the clubs’ operating profits were stable at around £500 million. Exceptional costs amounted to £110 million, a similar sum to the combined pre-tax loss.
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