Rangers roar back with record revenue, but 'grave' concerns over alcohol ban plan (The Herald)

dh1963

Well-Known Member
SCOTTISH football clubs have bounced back from pandemic lockdown losses with record results, but are now bracing themselves for a harsh winter as the energy crisis and cost-of-living crisis continue to bite, and new financial challenges emerge.

The loyalty of investors and fans is the bedrock of Scottish clubs such as Rangers FC, according to one of the country’s leading economists, but fresh pressures from planned legislation threaten “grave consequences”.

In day one of our three-part special series, we look at the wider headwinds but also at the financial resurgence of Rangers, with the Ibrox club posting accounts that show revenues rising from £16.5 million in 2015 to a record £86.8m in 2022, boosted by £4.25m compensation for manager Steven Gerrard’s departure to Aston Villa and a significant haul of European prize money and earnings.

Last year, notching second place in the SPFL also, there was an operating profit of £5.9m, swinging from a £27.6m operating loss from the year before, and with a net profit on the horizon.

In 2019, pre-pandemic, revenue for the year was £53.2m, a 63 per cent increase on the previous year.

Also in 2019, gate receipts and hospitality were £32m against £23m the year before, and in 2020 this was £36m. Gate receipts and hospitality hit £42m last year against £18m in 2021, and compared to £12m in 2015.

There was also a record commercial revenue of £28.4m for the year to June 30, 2022, which “eclipses” a previous high of £15.2m, Rangers said.

Professor Graeme Roy, of the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow, said football clubs will be impacted by energy costs and cost-of-living pressures, with potential “nervousness” at some clubs.

Investors as well as fans play a key part in supporting football, he said, and they continued to move to support the Ibrox club, which posted loans including £10.32m from vice-chairman John Bennett, and £1.9m from non-executive director Julian Juul Wolhardt.

Prof Roy said that clubs “are facing increased energy costs, increased costs in terms of food costs, hospitality, travel costs to get to games, so you cannot think of football clubs as being different from all the others affected by this huge spike in inflation”.

He said: “One of the challenges will be managing through huge increases in their costs and how they navigate through that.”

Is support from investors finite in recessionary times?

The professor said that “people don’t buy or invest in football clubs in the short-term, [and] will probably expect ebbs and flows, similarly with season tickets and sponsorships or broadcast deals, they tend to be multi-year”.

He said it is also “the potential knock-on spend that might have happened in the local area not just at the club but in bars and restaurants around there”.

Rangers’ revenue rise of 82% was driven by three factors, said club chairman Douglas Park.

“The loyal support of the fans with over 45,000 season tickets and over 1,400 seasonal hospitality places sold,” said Mr Park. “The run to the UEFA Europa League Final in Seville, which generated £30.5m across UEFA prize monies and matchdays; and finally a record £28.4m generated by the commercial business.”

Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the Scottish Professional Football Association, underlined separate pressures.

“These remain very challenging times for all businesses and football clubs are no different,” said Mr Doncaster. “Scottish clubs showed great resilience during the trials of the pandemic and are working hard to continue their recovery from what was a once-in-a-generation disruption to their business model.

“Welcoming back crowds, who make up a far higher proportion of the annual revenue in Scottish football than elsewhere, was a very welcome development, as are the new broadcasting deal with Sky Sports and our agreement with title sponsors cinch.

“However, a number of major challenges remain, not least the Scottish Government’s proposed ban on alcohol sponsorship, which would have extremely grave consequences for the finances of many sports, including ours.”

In part two tomorrow: Celtic and analysis from one of the businessmen who helped save the reigning Scottish champions
 
….Ibrox club posting accounts that show revenues rising from £16.5 million in 2015 to a record £86.8m in 2022, boosted by £4.25m compensation for manager Steven Gerrard’s departure to Aston Villa….
Overall, a decent article but inaccuracies like that irritate me. The payment received for Gerrard’s departure isn’t part of our revenue. It’s in ‘other operating income’, which is effectively a reduction in expenses.

There is a real problem with the quality of reporting in Scottish football. Getting basic facts right shouldn’t be difficult.
 
Overall, a decent article but inaccuracies like that irritate me. The payment received for Gerrard’s departure isn’t part of our revenue. It’s in ‘other operating income’, which is effectively a reduction in expenses.

There is a real problem with the quality of reporting in Scottish football. Getting basic facts right shouldn’t be difficult.
not sure who wrote this but if a football hack did then hardly surprising, they are not the brightest
 
Seems to be an expert for everything Rangers these days. Or is it just someone saying the obvious and adding his own wee bit bit of doom and gloom sprinkled with made up lies.
 
What significant alcohol sponsors do we have? If it's just side of the pitch hoardings type advertising, does it even warrant a mention in an article like this? Maybe the words 'Rangers' and 'alcohol ban' were just too tempting to resist for the headline writer.
 
The bit about alcohol is as follows:
However, a number of major challenges remain, not least the Scottish Government’s proposed ban on alcohol sponsorship, which would have extremely grave consequences for the finances of many sports, including ours.

Rangers being sponsored by a betting company takes out out of the immediate firing line - the depth of the proposed ban would need understood though.
It is logos on shirts, names on stands, suppliers to the club with any branding of the retail/hospitality? Interesting that Celtic opened up a stand hours before a game to allow fans to come and have a few pints though.
 
The bit about alcohol is as follows:
However, a number of major challenges remain, not least the Scottish Government’s proposed ban on alcohol sponsorship, which would have extremely grave consequences for the finances of many sports, including ours.

Rangers being sponsored by a betting company takes out out of the immediate firing line - the depth of the proposed ban would need understood though.
It is logos on shirts, names on stands, suppliers to the club with any branding of the retail/hospitality? Interesting that Celtic opened up a stand hours before a game to allow fans to come and have a few pints though.

The SNP are a pernicious bunch of puritains.
 
SCOTTISH football clubs have bounced back from pandemic lockdown losses with record results, but are now bracing themselves for a harsh winter as the energy crisis and cost-of-living crisis continue to bite, and new financial challenges emerge.

The loyalty of investors and fans is the bedrock of Scottish clubs such as Rangers FC, according to one of the country’s leading economists, but fresh pressures from planned legislation threaten “grave consequences”.

In day one of our three-part special series, we look at the wider headwinds but also at the financial resurgence of Rangers, with the Ibrox club posting accounts that show revenues rising from £16.5 million in 2015 to a record £86.8m in 2022, boosted by £4.25m compensation for manager Steven Gerrard’s departure to Aston Villa and a significant haul of European prize money and earnings.

Last year, notching second place in the SPFL also, there was an operating profit of £5.9m, swinging from a £27.6m operating loss from the year before, and with a net profit on the horizon.

In 2019, pre-pandemic, revenue for the year was £53.2m, a 63 per cent increase on the previous year.

Also in 2019, gate receipts and hospitality were £32m against £23m the year before, and in 2020 this was £36m. Gate receipts and hospitality hit £42m last year against £18m in 2021, and compared to £12m in 2015.

There was also a record commercial revenue of £28.4m for the year to June 30, 2022, which “eclipses” a previous high of £15.2m, Rangers said.

Professor Graeme Roy, of the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow, said football clubs will be impacted by energy costs and cost-of-living pressures, with potential “nervousness” at some clubs.

Investors as well as fans play a key part in supporting football, he said, and they continued to move to support the Ibrox club, which posted loans including £10.32m from vice-chairman John Bennett, and £1.9m from non-executive director Julian Juul Wolhardt.

Prof Roy said that clubs “are facing increased energy costs, increased costs in terms of food costs, hospitality, travel costs to get to games, so you cannot think of football clubs as being different from all the others affected by this huge spike in inflation”.

He said: “One of the challenges will be managing through huge increases in their costs and how they navigate through that.”

Is support from investors finite in recessionary times?

The professor said that “people don’t buy or invest in football clubs in the short-term, [and] will probably expect ebbs and flows, similarly with season tickets and sponsorships or broadcast deals, they tend to be multi-year”.

He said it is also “the potential knock-on spend that might have happened in the local area not just at the club but in bars and restaurants around there”.

Rangers’ revenue rise of 82% was driven by three factors, said club chairman Douglas Park.

“The loyal support of the fans with over 45,000 season tickets and over 1,400 seasonal hospitality places sold,” said Mr Park. “The run to the UEFA Europa League Final in Seville, which generated £30.5m across UEFA prize monies and matchdays; and finally a record £28.4m generated by the commercial business.”

Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the Scottish Professional Football Association, underlined separate pressures.

“These remain very challenging times for all businesses and football clubs are no different,” said Mr Doncaster. “Scottish clubs showed great resilience during the trials of the pandemic and are working hard to continue their recovery from what was a once-in-a-generation disruption to their business model.

“Welcoming back crowds, who make up a far higher proportion of the annual revenue in Scottish football than elsewhere, was a very welcome development, as are the new broadcasting deal with Sky Sports and our agreement with title sponsors cinch.

“However, a number of major challenges remain, not least the Scottish Government’s proposed ban on alcohol sponsorship, which would have extremely grave consequences for the finances of many sports, including ours.”

In part two tomorrow: Celtic and analysis from one of the businessmen who helped save the reigning Scottish champions
Who wrote the last paragraph wee liam (the champions),from beeb alba
 
If I'm reading that right, it says our commercial revenue was almost double what our previous best figure was.

Is that correct?
 
The bit about alcohol is as follows:
However, a number of major challenges remain, not least the Scottish Government’s proposed ban on alcohol sponsorship, which would have extremely grave consequences for the finances of many sports, including ours.

Rangers being sponsored by a betting company takes out out of the immediate firing line - the depth of the proposed ban would need understood though.
It is logos on shirts, names on stands, suppliers to the club with any branding of the retail/hospitality? Interesting that Celtic opened up a stand hours before a game to allow fans to come and have a few pints though.
There’s been talk of a gambling sponsorship ban as well, I swear the SNP are deliberately trying to run Scottish football into the ground
 
There’s been talk of a gambling sponsorship ban as well, I swear the SNP are deliberately trying to run Scottish football into the ground
That is a UK wide thing that is planned

One of the reasons why Ladbrokes didn't extend their sponsorship deal with the SPFL their parent company began to withdraw from football sponsorship
 
That is a UK wide thing that is planned

One of the reasons why Ladbrokes didn't extend their sponsorship deal with the SPFL their parent company began to withdraw from football sponsorship
Let’s hope it doesn’t happen.

If we can’t have alcohol, and gambling, combined with our horrendously bad tv deal, we will struggle even more to raise cash.
 
Let’s hope it doesn’t happen.

If we can’t have alcohol, and gambling, combined with our horrendously bad tv deal, we will struggle even more to raise cash.
I think it will happen at some point in terms of gambling sponsorship ban since it will be rest in of the UK as well at some point

Alcohol sponsorship ban not sure
 
Overall, a decent article but inaccuracies like that irritate me. The payment received for Gerrard’s departure isn’t part of our revenue. It’s in ‘other operating income’, which is effectively a reduction in expenses.

There is a real problem with the quality of reporting in Scottish football. Getting basic facts right shouldn’t be difficult.
If the SG don’t work with facts why should anyone else. You are right though, you wonder what journalists are taught nowadays as we at least had the basic facts to make our own minds up or to allow us to read between the lines.

Nowadays it seems to be about spinning a story based on your editorial policy or what football team you support.
 
interesting

but is it anything we don't already know?

It's hardly in-depth analysis!!
I agree.

"Professor Graeme Roy, of the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow,"

I'm thinking, in my senior years, of applying to Glasgow Uni to study at the business school if this is the level of detail required by "one of the country’s leading economists," to pass the degree course.

Of course in these "articles" the "journalist" fails to describe the Terms of Reference given to Professor Roy in order for Professor Roy to form his opinion.



"In day one of our three-part special series..." Rangers

"In part two tomorrow: Celtic and analysis from one of the businessmen who helped save the reigning Scottish champions..." "one of the businessmen who helped save the reigning Scottish champions..." Not a professor, maybe Fergus McCann ? Mentions the reigning Scottish champs so the "save" is recent ?

So that leaves part 3 of the series which will presumably cover, the other 40 senior clubs, clubs other than the 42 senior clubs, the SPFL finances, the SFA finances, the Scottish Women's groups finances and all associated Scottish Football associations in between. eh?

Given that none of the quotes attributed to Professor Roy mentions Rangers I think that Part 3 of the series will just be a cut and paste of Part 1.


"Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the Scottish Professional Football Association..."
Association ?
Never mind, Neil, with an annual salary allegedly of £388,000 won't have to turn his thermostat down very often.
 
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Quality of journalism across the board in this backwater is pisspoor. Mention Rangers (or indeed the scum) = sell papers / attract clicks. That’s the starting point for these muppets.
Fills a big space on the back page of the Herald ( not the sport section, the main paper ).
 
The alcohol advertising has happened in other places. The companies there just advertise their alcohol free version, which basically circumvents the general principle of it.
Champions league pressers showed Heineken 0/0% bottles front and centre.
 
There’s been talk of a gambling sponsorship ban as well, I swear the SNP are deliberately trying to run Scottish football into the ground
As football becomes an increasingly family-oriented event then the alcohol and betting sponsorship & relationships will end.

The sooner clubs are able to negotiate some
kind of individual TV deals the better because the sponsors who will spend any kind of money are on their way out.
 
What I mainly got from that article is a reinforcement of the fact that we effectively get no financial benefit from being members of the SPFL or SFA.

TV money, sponsorship and competition prize money are so negligible to our income, that both organisations are effectively taking millions out of the game just to act as a secretarial service.

I'm sure the clubs could organise a sporting calendar and distribution of income just as capably without these useless albatrosses around our necks.
 
The SNP seem intent on destroying the Scottish drink and hospitality industry as well as Scottish football with this legislation.
The gambling ban with come before alcohol I would have thought. The Gambling Commission white paper is due out and this is rumoured to be a part of it.
 
Overall, a decent article but inaccuracies like that irritate me. The payment received for Gerrard’s departure isn’t part of our revenue. It’s in ‘other operating income’, which is effectively a reduction in expenses.

There is a real problem with the quality of reporting in Scottish football. Getting basic facts right shouldn’t be difficult.
"Boosted by Gerrard's 4.5 million"

Odd thing to pick out when there's another 65 million there that doesn't include Gerrard compo.
 
The alcohol advertising has happened in other places. The companies there just advertise their alcohol free version, which basically circumvents the general principle of it.

Meat next, then a ban on travel companies - bad for the carbon, then cars...
 
The headline of that article is very misleading clickbait. It suggests ‘grave concerns’ for Rangers’ future due to a potential ban on alcohol advertising.

In the article the comments on alcohol advertising relate to all SPFL clubs, not just Rangers as the headline suggests.

I looked on the Rangers website for alcohol related sponsors. The only one is Tennents, which seems low-level, similar to Black Rooster.
 
You have to love the SNP considering an alcohol advertising ban whilst repeatedly saying how important whisky exports are for the country and selling a yes branded whisky in their own store.

Ah but that's nice middle class drinking, that's fine. Nasty working class alcohol is different eh.
 
It's the snp future plan, we leave our brigadoon homes to go watch rugger, hook up for a coffee after and head home to morag or dougal whichever.
It's a no drugs, alcohol, illness utopia.
 
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