Brentford Finances 2022/23

What Became Of The Likely Lads

Brentford’s 2022/23 financial results covered a season where they finished ninth in the Premier League, an improvement of four places on their previous campaign and their highest post-war league finish. Chair Cliff Crown justifiably said that the year “marked an exceptional period of growth for our club.”

Profit/(Loss) 2022/23

Brentford once again posted a pre-tax profit, though this fell from £30m to £9m, despite revenue rising £26m (18%) from £141m to a club record £167m. Profit from player sales also rose £1.0m from £4.6m to £5.6m.

However, this growth was offset by operating expenses shooting up £49m (42%) from £117m to £166m, while net interest swung from £0.2m receivable to £0.8m payable.

Profit after tax also dropped from £26m to £11m was smaller, as the previous year’s £4m tax credit was replaced by a £2m charge.

The main driver of Brentford’s £26m revenue increase was broadcasting, which rose £20m (18%) from £115m to £135m, though there was also good growth in commercial, up £4m (29%) from £16m to £20m, and match day, up £1m (8%) from £10m to £11m.

In addition, other operating income nearly doubled from £1.9m to £3.6m.

Investment in the playing squad drove significant increases in both wages, up £31m (45%) from £68m to £99m, and player amortisation, up £8m (35%) from £23m to £31m.

There was also steep growth in other expenses, up £9m (38%) from £22m to £31m, and depreciation, up £1.7m (46%) from £3.6m to £5.3m, mainly due to more expenditure on the new stadium.

Despite the reduction, Brentford’s £9m pre-tax profit is the second best financial performance to date in the Premier League in 2022/23, only surpassed by Manchester City’s huge £80m surplus.

This is clearly another very impressive performance, as the other clubs that have so far published accounts for last season all lost money: Newcastle United £73m, Manchester United £33m and West Ham £18m.

While it is not unusual for a club to make a healthy profit in its first season after promotion to the Premier League, it often does worse in its second season, as it needs to further invest in the squad and other areas.