Burnley Finances 2022/23

Plan B

Burnley’s 2022/23 financial results covered a season when they comfortably won the Championship, thus securing an immediate promotion back to the Premier League. This was achieved in some style under manager Vincent Kompany, as the team topped the table by an impressive 10 points.

The club also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, before being eliminated by eventual winners, Manchester City.

Ownership

This is the second full season under the ownership of Alan Pace, who has presided over a rollercoaster period, including one relegation and one promotion, since taking over Burnley in December 2020, when his company purchase an 84% majority shareholding.

This represented a dramatic change in approach for Burnley, as the new owners put in very little of their own money, instead making the acquisition via a leveraged buy-out, placing debt on the club for the first time in years and using the club’s own cash reserves.

Profit/(Loss) 2022/23

Following relegation to the Championship, Burnley swung from a pre-tax £36m profit to a £36m loss, a £72m year-on-year decline, as revenue fell £58m (47%) from £123m to £65m and profit from player sales dropped £43m from £54m to £11m. This was partly offset by the club cutting expenses by £29m (1%) to £106m.

The loss after tax was smaller at £28m, thanks to an £8m tax credit, compared to a £10m charge the previous year.

The main driver of Burnley’s £58m revenue decrease was broadcasting, which more than halved in the Championship, falling £57m from £105m to £48m. Commercial income also fell £3.1m (27%) from £11.5m to £8.4m, but match day actually rose by £1.7m (24%) from £7.0m to £8.7m.

Other operating income fell £0.3m (28%) from £1.2m to £0.9m.

Burnley partly compensated for the lower revenue with a steep reduction in the wage bill, which was cut by £38m (42%) from £92m to £54m, while player amortisation slightly fell by £2m (6%) from £24m to £22m. However, other expenses shot up £10m (61%) from £18m to £28m.

Restatement

As a technical aside, the prior year accounts were restated, as transfer levies had been incorrectly expensed instead of being recognised as an intangible asset. This increased player amortisation, while reducing other expenses and profit from player sales, though the bottom line hardly changed at all.

Burnley’s £36m loss before tax was actually the worst financial performance in the 2022/23 Championship, more than Sheffield United £31m, Norwich City £27m and Birmingham City £25m.

In fairness, very few clubs in the ultra-competitive Championship make money with only Watford in 2022/23 managing to generate a profit – and their £24m was driven by very high player sales following relegation.

It will not have escaped people’s attention that the two clubs with the largest losses were both promoted to the Premier League, partly reflecting investment in the squad, but also hefty bonus payments (or the price of success, if you will).

Player Sales 2022/23

Burnley’s profit from player sales fell £43m from club record £54m to £11m, mainly from Maxwell Cornet’s move to West Ham.

As a rule, few clubs in the Championship make big money from player trading, the exceptions usually being those that have just been relegated from the Premier League, either because they need to offset the resulting revenue decrease or because players want to remain at a higher level.