By David Owen
March 29 – Newly-published accounts for West Bromwich Albion, the Midlands club marooned at the foot of the Premier League table, reveal a sharp drop in directors’ remuneration since it was taken under Chinese control in September 2016.
Financial statements for the year to 30 June 2017 disclose overall directors’ remuneration of £1.3 million, down from £3.4 million the previous year. The highest-paid director received just £262,000, down from a whopping £1.95 million in 2016.
Overall staff costs were also kept under tight control, climbing to just £79 million from a restated £71.4 million. Agent fees have been reclassified to general overheads as they “do not form a part of employee remuneration”. This in a year when turnover surged from £98.3 million to £137.9 million because of the new Premier League TV deal.
The accounts also confirm that the club, which will be playing second-tier football next season barring a miraculous upturn in form, paid no dividend in the latest period. In 2015-16, dividends of £27 million were paid to an “intermediate parent” company called West Bromwich Albion Group Limited.
The latest financial information landed in Companies House just days after returning chief executive Mark Jenkins revealed that the club needed its first overdraft for more than a decade while unveiling pre-tax profits of a highly impressive £39.8 million.
Jenkins had resigned as a director in December 2016 before being reappointed last month, on Valentine’s day. Control of the club passed from Jeremy Peace to Yunyi Guokai (Shanghai) Sports Development in September 2016.
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