By David Owen
April 8 – West Bromwich Albion, the Midlands football club now assured of at least one more season of English top-tier football, remained in the black while suffering a near halving of profits in the year to 30 June 2015.
The club, managed by Tony Pulis, posted a pre-tax profit of £7.6 million on turnover of £96.3 million, versus £14.7 million on turnover of £86.8 million the previous year. The decline was explained in part by a £4.3 million reduction in the profit from player sales.
Wages remained under control, with overall staff costs put at £69.8 million, against £65.5 million a year earlier. The accounts note, however, that the club has bought £27.8 million worth of players since the year-end, with arrivals including Salomón Rondón, the Venezuelan centre-forward, for whom West Brom splashed a record fee.
Remuneration to the highest-paid director – presumably Jeremy Peace, since he is the only director listed for the company, West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited – edged ahead to £1.12 million from £1.02 million in 2014.
The year brought changes in details of the group’s equity structure, with the accounts disclosing the acquisition of 20.8% of West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, an intermediate company. Ownership of this intermediate entity is put at 87.8%.
There was also an issue of 12,500 ‘A’ shares, for a subscription of £4.4 million, to “reduce indebtedness”.
A recent Birmingham Mail report cited Italian media outlets as claiming that Internazionale’s Erick Thohir had had an offer for West Brom turned down. Interest in Premier League clubs is expected to be high this summer, with a lucrative new set of TV deals poised to click in.
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