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Tottenham report £63.9m loss amid Covid hit, reduced Champions League prize money
Tottenham report £63.9m loss amid Covid hit, reduced Champions League prize money
English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur has registered a £63.9m ($85.3m/€72m) loss for the year ending June 30, 2020, blaming reduced Uefa Champions League prize money and a shortfall…
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Tottenham report £63.9m loss amid Covid hit, reduced Champions League prize money
English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur has registered a £63.9m ($85.
Ben Cronin, Europe EditorEnglish Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur has registered a £63.9m ($85.3m/€72m) loss for the year ending June 30, 2020, blaming reduced Uefa Champions League prize money and a shortfall in matchday and media revenues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The loss stands in contrast to the £68.6m profit the London club announced at the same time last year.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said the pandemic “could not have come at a worse time” with the side having just completed the construction of its new £1.2bn Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and described the situation as “one of the most challenging times ever experienced”.
Deprived of ticketing revenue and the loss of third-party events such as the NFL London games, and the closure of stores and visitor attractions, Levy predicted losses for the current financial year could amount to £150m if spectators continued to be banned from games.
Overall revenues for the year stood at £402.4m versus £460.7m in 2019. Operating expenses before football trading increased to £358.1m compared with £312.8m in 2019, driven by a full year of depreciation of the new stadium worth £71m (£24.9m in 2019).
Profit from operations, excluding football trading and before depreciation and exceptional items, stood at £115.3m, down from £172.7m in 2019.
Premier League media revenues decreased to £95.2m compared with £149.9m in 2019 after the league’s broadcasters deferred payment for games which were played post year end. Uefa Champions League prize money reduced to £51.2m as the team exited at the round-of-16 stage of the competition compared with £94m in 2019 when the team reached the final.
However, the club said commercial revenues of £161.5m versus £135.2m for 2019 showed “the potential from merchandise, third-party events and sponsorship revenues” that could be derived from the new stadium.
Although the club was only able to play 14 of 19 home fixtures in front of spectators before the pandemic struck, ticketing revenues also increased. Premier League matchday and catering receipts stood at £81.9m for the year compared with £64.2m for the preceding season when the side played the majority of their fixtures at Wembley Stadium. Matchday revenues in the club’s old White Hart Lane stadium stood at around £45m.
In 2019, Tottenham agreed a refinancing package for the new stadium, converting £525m of its debt into bonds, with staggered maturities of between 15 and 30 years. In the latest set of accounts, the club said the average maturity of its debt portfolio was 23 years and the weighted average interest rate was 2.67 per cent. At the year end the Club had net debt of £604.6m (2019: £534.3m).
Levy called for a relaxation of spectator restrictions referencing the importance of Premier League clubs to the UK economy and local communities and arguing that the club was equipped to handle crowds safely.
He said: “We have spent the past months preparing our stadium, testing our digital ticketing process and registering ID validation for fans. Premier League clubs are entirely capable, similar to the experience in several other countries, of responsibly delivering outdoor events with social distancing, exemplary hygiene standards, qualified stewards, testing capabilities and diverse travel plans, operating in some of the most technologically advanced venues in the world.
“We recognise that health and safety are paramount and we have been encouraged by the latest news on vaccine developments and potential Clinical Passports.”
These demands now look likely to have been answered with the UK government expected to allow a maximum of 4,000 fans attend events in low-risk outdoor events when a national lockdown ends on December 2.
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