Fulham Finances 2022/23

Stand By Me

After a relatively calm season, Fulham can look forward to a third consecutive year in the Premier League, which will go a long way to losing their tag as a “yo-yo” club. On the previous two occasions that they had been promoted to the top flight, they had immediately dropped back to the Championship, so there have clearly been signs of progress under Marco Silva.

Things also look a little better off the pitch, considering the club’s most recent accounts from the 2022/23 season, when they finished in a very creditable 10th place in their first season back in the Premier League.

Although these accounts are now a full year out of date, I think it’s still worth reviewing Fulham’s finances, especially as these will impact the club’s strategy going forward.

Profit/(Loss) 2022/23

In 2022/23 Fulham’s pre-tax loss more than halved from £57m to £26m, as revenue shot up £110m from £72m to a club record £182m following promotion to the Premier League, though profit from player sales dropped from £12m to £9m.

Much of the revenue increase was eaten up by operating expenses rising £76m (54%) from £141m to £217m, as the club increased its budget in order to compete in the top flight.

The main driver of Fulham’s revenue growth was broadcasting, which almost tripled, rising £94m from £51m to £145m, thanks to the far more lucrative Premier League TV deal.

However, there was also good growth in the other revenue streams, especially match day, which more than doubled from £6.8m to £15.2m, while commercial increased £8.7m (62%) from £14.0m to £22.7m.

In order to help survive in the Premier League, Fulham further invested in the squad As a result, wages rose £49m (54%) from £90m (including hefty promotion bonus payments) to £139m, which was another club record. In addition, player amortisation increased £15m (47%) from £31m to £46m.

Other expenses were also significantly higher, rising £13m (75%) from £18m to £31m.

Despite the improvement, Fulham still lost £26m, but this was actually not too bad for the Premier League, as some clubs reported much higher losses in 2022/23, led by Aston Villa £120m, Tottenham £95m, Chelsea £90m, Leicester City £90m and Everton £89m.