By David Owen
March 29 – Relegated Bournemouth, now lying just outside the play-off places in the second-tier Championship, have become the latest English club to post a big loss for covid-hit 2019-20.
The Russian-owned south coast club reported a pre-tax loss for the year to end-June of £60.1 million, nearly double the prior year’s tally. This was on turnover which dropped back below the £100-million mark to £95.4 million from £131.1 million. The vast majority of this – £80.7 million – came from Premier League income. Staff costs dipped by £3 million to £107.9 million, meaning that they more than absorbed the club’s reduced turnover.
Notes to the accounts disclosed that the Cherries took on £15.6 million of bank loans during the year, all secured against future receivable transfer fee installments. The club also ended the year owing its British Virgin Islands-registered parent a non-interest-bearing loan “with a book and fair value” of £126.3 million. Approximately half of this latter loan was said to have been repayable in August 2020, with the remainder repayable either on demand or in January 2024.
After the balance-sheet date, in September, the club is said to have received a net £17.4 million “in relation to the forward funding of future transfer receivables”.
It has also generated total net proceeds from player sales of £62.3 million. The net book value of these players was put at £11.5 million, making for a profit of £50.8 million. According to Neill Blake, chief executive: “Clearly, if these sales had been made before 30 June 2020, this would have removed a large portion of the loss for the year, and in an ordinary year such sales would have been possible prior to the year end.”
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