[Albion] Albion accounts 2014-15

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

I haven't had a chance to read the report yet.

I presume that's gross spend rather than net spend. This is a manipulation of statistics and therefore doesn't quite tell the whole story. A 6M surplus from player sales takes that figure down considerably. I'd be interested to compare net spend compared to our first and second seasons in the Championship.

I don't think the football costs 'line' includes any profit/loss made from player trading. You'll be aware that the latter does include all the ongoing amortisation (depreciation) of player registration fees etc spread over the contract period. Good luck with the comparison, can't see what your expecting them show though.

 

[Stat Brother]

I have no right to be sat at this table so am happy to be very wrong but:-

For those who mocked the stated fact that last year's footballing budget was the club's highest ever:

Football costs: £23,734,000 (2013-14: £20,748,000)

So, we spent nearly £3m on footbally things last season when compared to Oscar's season.

That increase of nearly £3m in a rising market, for a season with a £6.3m 'windfall' seems like it could be a little light.

Which reinforces the view that money was spent poorly rather than not spent.

Burke OUT.

Nobody is arguing that the money available wasn't spent poorly.
But maybe if more money were made available, esp as an extra £6m of unaccounted money arrived in, the quality of purchase might have improved.

Granted it might just have been a case of Mr Bloom not wanting to throw good money after bad, fair do's it's his money (debt).

But after a very poor and costly season, considerably more money has been made available for the current squad, without the bonus of transfer money coming in.

 

[rool]

But after a very poor and costly season, considerably more money has been made available for the current squad, without the bonus of transfer money coming in.

It was a crap season so something had to be done anyway but the combined loss of over £1m revenue in tickets, catering and retail may have something to do with that

 

[seagulls4ever]

its not a manipulation of statistics at all.
This is the net football budget and excludes player depreciation and amortisation.

Our football budget year by year goes like this...
In pre- Withdean decade the budget hovered between £4m and £6m
Amex budgets have been...
2011/12 - £13m
2012/13- £19m
2013/14- £20m
2014/15 -£23m
via http://swissramble.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/brighton-and-hove-albion-love-at-pier.html

If the figure doesn't include profits from player sales then saying we have the highest ever footballing budget, whilst true, is also a little misleading if we haven't reinvested all the money from player sales back into the team. Another point to make is that these figures don't include spending power, which is also very important. If you have a bunch of fringe players who are not good enough on high wages then there's not much room to improve the team if those wages are taking up most of your budget. Poyet had lots of spending power when we moved from League One to the Championship, which was one of the reasons why he was able to build such a great team over our first couple of seasons in the Championship.

As it happens, not using decimal places and not rounding up/down correctly (as you have done above) is also a manipulation of statistics!

 

[Gazwag]

Could be wrong, but I think that company accounts have to be filed before the end of December.

Nine months after the year end - 31 March

 

[LlcoolJ]

If we'd wanted to massage the figures we could have included the deferred tax credit of £15m.

 

[Mileoakman]

My only problem with this is that if last years accounts include income from Ulloa & Buckley of about £6M, who do we have to sell in January just to stand still!.

 

[chaileyjem]

If the figure doesn't include profits from player sales then saying we have the highest ever footballing budget, whilst true, is also a little misleading if we haven't reinvested all the money from player sales back into the team. Another point to make is that these figures don't include spending power, which is also very important. If you have a bunch of fringe players who are not good enough on high wages then there's not much room to improve the team if those wages are taking up most of your budget. Poyet had lots of spending power when we moved from League One to the Championship, which was one of the reasons why he was able to build such a great team over our first couple of seasons in the Championship.

As it happens, not using decimal places and not rounding up/down correctly (as you have done above) is also a manipulation of statistics!

All the net profits from player sales go into increasing the wages of footballers.
Otherwise we wouldn't have a 10m+ losses each year.

Fact is , in black and white, Garcia had a bigger budget than Gus and got us to 6th. Hyppia had a bigger budget, spending power or however you want to put it (14% up) and blew it and got us to 20th before Hughton came to save the day.

Blame Burke, Blame the squad, Blame Bloom for not sacking him, Praise Gus for being a great manager but enough of the Gus had money which meant he succeeded and Garcia/Hyppia didn't which means they didn't. Its simply not true.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Dare I ask again how Albion Sports and Leisure fit into things, as they're the ones building the hotel according to this:

http://padocs.lewes.gov.uk/AniteIM.WebSearch/Download.aspx?Download=00223957.pdf

Wholly-owned sub of Holdings; thus, their numbers (if any) are consolidated into these.

 

[LlcoolJ]

Page 14, Current assets less liabilities £223m. Is that Uncle Tony's contribution to BHA?

Basically yes as if you look at the director's loan (£147m) plus the share capital (£76m) that's what he's put into the club (I know it's not quite that simple).

 

[chaileyjem]

But after a very poor and costly season, considerably more money has been made available for the current squad, without the bonus of transfer money coming in.

How do you know ? Bloom / Barber say the budget has gone up but just because the players have performed - who's to say Hemed is earning "considerably" more money that Colunga or CMS or O Grady. We've spent millions on players that haven't performed in the last 5 years.
Their success or not on the pitch often bears little relation to their wages.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Basically yes as if you look at the director's loan (£147m) plus the share capital (£76m) that's what he's put into the club (I know it's not quite that simple).

Nearly. He had 92% of the share capital (~£70m) at the accounts date = £217m total...

 

[Hiney]

Scary isn't it.
I still find it astonishing that Hyypia had to fall on his sword and resign for the situation to be addressed. Had he remained in charge for another month, I think the damage may well have been irreversible last season. The complete overhaul at the end of last year that resulted, with the subsequent binning of Burke, set this club on a very different path.

Bloom doesn't get much wrong, but thanks christ he was forced into that overhaul just in time last year. Next years accounts would have made for some pretty gruesome reading if we were back in the noddy leagues right now, that's for sure.

Board: So Sami, it's pretty shit isn't it? The honourable thing to do would be to resign
Sami: But I'm close turning things round and anyway, if I resign, you won't pay my contract up.
Board: So Sami, it's pretty shit isn't it? The honourable thing to do would be to resign
Sami: But...
Board *background of knuckles being cracked* So Sami, it's pretty shit isn't it? The honourable thing to do would be to resign
Sami: Are you suggest.......
Board: *background of concrete overshoes being cast* So Sami, it's pretty shit isn't it? The honourable thing to do would be to resign
Sami: I resign
Board: If that's what you want Sami, thanks for everything, shut the door on your way out

 

[Goldstone1976]

Board: So Sami, it's pretty shit isn't it? The honourable thing to do would be to resign
Sami: But I'm close turning things round and anyway, if I resign, you won't pay my contract up.
Board: So Sami, it's pretty shit isn't it? The honourable thing to do would be to resign
Sami: But...
Board *background of knuckles being cracked* So Sami, it's pretty shit isn't it? The honourable thing to do would be to resign
Sami: Are you suggest.......
Board: *background of concrete overshoes being cast* So Sami, it's pretty shit isn't it? The honourable thing to do would be to resign
Sami: I resign
Board: If that's what you want Sami, thanks for everything, shut the door on your way out

Been on the receiving end of that conversation a couple of times early in my career, and been on the giving end a few times more recently. I can imagine that that's a plausible scenario...

 

[Thunder Bolt]

All the net profits from player sales go into increasing the wages of footballers.
Otherwise we wouldn't have a 10m+ losses each year.

Fact is , in black and white, Garcia had a bigger budget than Gus and got us to 6th. Hyppia had a bigger budget, spending power or however you want to put it (14% up) and blew it and got us to 20th before Hughton came to save the day.

Blame Burke, Blame the squad, Blame Bloom for not sacking him, Praise Gus for being a great manager but enough of the Gus had money which meant he succeeded and Garcia/Hyppia didn't which means they didn't. Its simply not true.

I've read that bold bit three times now, and it still doesn't make sense to me. Can you rephrase it?

 

[Pavilionaire]

We seem to be in a pattern of losing £10mill a season. The question is for how long is Tony Bloom prepared to wear this cost? There can't be many clubs outside of the Prem who have had one person put in so much capital without experiencing Prem football at some stage.

As an accountant and a bit of an anorak the new Companies House website now has every clubs accounts available for viewing free of charge, and I've just had a look at Hull City and QPR. What strikes you is the differential in Turnover - Albion receive £24mill a season whereas these two have received in the range £80mill - £100mill per season.

The Prem / parachute money is so much higher it is incredible that the top 3 Championship teams challenging right now have precisely £NIL parachute receipts to help them.

 

[Stat Brother]

How do you know ? Bloom / Barber say the budget has gone up but just because the players have performed - who's to say Hemed is earning "considerably" more money that Colunga or CMS or O Grady. We've spent millions on players that haven't performed in the last 5 years.
Their success or not on the pitch often bears little relation to their wages.

Because considerably more money was spent on most, if not all, of the new signings before they even earned a penny.
Where did the millions spent on Kayal, Hemed, Uwe, Goldsen, Manu & Murphy plus the one I always forget, come from?

If it's 'new' money because Tony didn't trust Burke, fair enough.
If it's 'other' money that had been saved for a rainy day, then why wasn't it spent last season?

I get what you're saying re the budget as a whole.
I guess my point doesn't stack up until next years accounts.

To put it in terms I understand, I'll use random guesses.

2013/14 - £20m
2014/15 - £23m
2015/16 - £24m

Clearly a lot of money was poorly spent, last season.

or

2013/14 - £20m
2014/15 - £23m
2015/16 - £26m

As above.

Or

my guess
2013/14 - £20m
2014/15 - £23m
2015/16 - £29m

Begging the question why undercut last season and have to spend so much more to catch up for this season?

Oh and 'only' £3m in a rising economy doesn't seem like busting the bank.
That seems, sadly, more like level par.


As I said originally I'm not cut out for this, as I believe I have clearly proven

 

[Stat Brother]

We seem to be in a pattern of losing £10mill a season. The question is for how long is Tony Bloom prepared to wear this cost? There can't be many clubs outside of the Prem who have had one person put in so much capital without experiencing Prem football at some stage.

As an accountant and a bit of an anorak the new Companies House website now has every clubs accounts available for viewing free of charge, and I've just had a look at Hull City and QPR. What strikes you is the differential in Turnover - Albion receive £24mill a season whereas these two have received in the range £80mill - £100mill per season.

The Prem / parachute money is so much higher it is incredible that the top 3 Championship teams challenging right now have precisely £NIL parachute receipts to help them.

£10m is only 1 Solly March transfer.

Arsenal & Liverpool have bought Southampton's stability and current league position.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Except that we blew it on the likes of Holla, O Grady, Colunga, Gardner, Bent, Bennett, Best, Agustien, McCourt, and CMS. (and Baldock, Stockdale, Teixeira, and Kayal).
ie: Goodbye Burke. Goodbye Sami.

*weeps*

 

[El Presidente]

It is bloomin' great. Even financial ignoramuses like me are interested enough to read. And I look forward to reading the proper analysis.

(btw - what are the Intangibles that have reduced by £1.3M and why are we holding a lot more stock ?)

1: Intangibles represents the remaining value of player signings, so, despite the club spending £3.3 million in the year, we sold Leo and Buckers, and amortised other signings by over £2 million.

2: I suspect (but don't know) that the increase in stock is due to the Errea contract ceasing in 2014, so the club ran down levels of replica kit, and being replaced by the Nike contract which would have been half way through the home kit cycle at the end of May 2015.