With promotion to the Premiership in their sights, Southampton have received a big financial boost with the news that £33m of loans invested in the club by the estate of former owner Markus Liebherr will not have to be paid back. The money has now been converted into shares, removing it as a liability.
The accounts show that the club made a net loss of £11.5m winning promotion from League One last season. Total revenue excluding transfers rose by 11 per cent to £16.4m and group wages made up 93 per cent of turnover.
With promotion to the Premiership in their sights, Southampton have received a big financial boost with the news that £33m of loans invested in the club by the estate of former owner Markus Liebherr will not have to be paid back. The money has now been converted into shares, removing it as a liability.
The accounts show that the club made a net loss of £11.5m winning promotion from League One last season. Total revenue excluding transfers rose by 11 per cent to £16.4m and group wages made up 93 per cent of turnover.
That is a worryingly high figure, well above recommended levels. However, the club is relaxed about it. Chief financial officer Gareth Rogers said, ‘In isolation you could say it’s a very scary figure but in the context of the five year plan it was expected, it includes £1.4m of one-off payments that won’t recur.’
Even so, that £1.4m wouldn’t reduce the overall level of exposure by very much and Rogers admitted that wage costs have risen in the Championship and would rise further if promotion was secured. However, he insisted, ‘The loss incurred to date is absolutely beneath what we expected, so perverse as it sounds, we’re pleased with that size of loss.’