From A Whisper To A Scream
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Coventry City’s owner Doug King described the weekend’s exhilarating FA Cup triumph against Premier League side Wolves as “our biggest win since 1987”, adding, “the stature is going up and we’re in the semi-final, where we haven’t been for 37 years.”
This means another trip to Wembley for the Sky Blues, where they will face Manchester United, though the club will be hoping for a better result than the narrow defeat in last season’s EFL Championship play-off final, when they lost to Luton Town on penalties.
In fairness, it was a great achievement for the West Midlands club to reach the play-offs after finishing the regular season in fifth place, which was their best league position since they were relegated from the top flight over 20 years ago in 2001.
Ownership
These were the final accounts of Coventry’s previous owners, after local businessman King took ownership of the club in January 2023, initially through the acquisition of an 85% stake and then buying the remaining 15%.
The previous owners, London-based hedge fund SISU Capital, had saved the club from administration in 2007, but came under fire from many supporters for their penny pinching approach in subsequent years.
During their tenure, Coventry dropped down to League Two in 2017, but since then they have steadily recovered under manager Mark Robins. This success has been achieved on a very low budget, as will be seen by a review of their latest accounts.
Profit/(Loss) 2022/23
In 2022/23 Coventry’s pre-tax loss reduced from £7.0m to £4.9m, though this was largely thanks to a £3.0m exceptional tax write-off.
That said, there was good growth in both revenue, up £2.3m (13%) from £18.1m to £20.4m, and profit from player sales, up £1.9m from £0.5m to £2.4m.
This was offset by operating expenses increasing £4.1m (17%) from £23.8m to £27.9m. Net interest payable was unchanged at £2.4m.
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Reaching the play-off final helped drive the increase in Coventry’s revenue, especially match day, which rose £2.9m (68%) from £4.3m to £7.2m. Broadcasting was also slightly higher, up £0.2m (3%) to £9.0m, though commercial dropped £0.8m (17%) from £5.0m to £4.2m.
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Coventry’s wage bill rose £2.8m (18%) from £15.7m to £18.5m, while player amortisation edged up £0.1m (4%) to £2.9m. Other expenses increased £1.2m (23%) from £5.2m to £6.4m.
In addition, there was a £0.3m asset write-off related to the replacement of one of the training pitches at Ryton.
Although losing money is clearly not ideal, Coventry’s £4.9m loss is actually the second best financial result of the 12 Championship clubs that have to date published 2022/23 accounts, so they cannot be accused of buying success.
Only one club generated a profit, which was Watford, whose £24m was driven by very high player sales following relegation...