Nottingham Forest Finances 2022/23

Chequeless Reckless

So Nottingham Forest have retained their status in England’s top flight after two victories in their last three games left them six points clear of the relegation zone.

This was achieved despite a 4-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which was confirmed after the club was unsuccessful in its appeal,

Their fans will believe that justice has been done, as Forest did enough on the pitch to ensure survival, while others might argue that this successful campaign was only made possible by the financial excesses that resulted in the club failing to comply with the PSR targets.

Whatever your point of view, let’s take a look at Forest’s accounts for the 2022/23 season, which was a record breaker in many ways, as the club by the Trent saw Premier League football for the first time after 23 long years.

Having led the club to promotion, manager Steve Cooper also guided Forest to safety, but the Welshman was dismissed last December, replaced by the experienced Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo.

Profit/(Loss) 2022/23

Forest’s pre-tax loss widened by £21m from £46m to £67m, despite revenue shooting up £125m from £30m to a club record £155m following promotion to the Premier League, as this was eaten up by operating expenses rising £135m in the top flight.

In addition, net interest payable significantly increased from £1m to £10m, while profit from player sales dropped from £4m to £3m.

The main driver of Forest’s revenue growth was broadcasting, which rose a staggering £113m from £12m to £125m, due to the far more lucrative Premier League deal (ten times as much as in the Championship).

There was also good growth in the other revenue streams, especially commercial, which more than doubled from £9.3m to £18.9m, while match day increased by a third, rising £2.8m from £8.2m to £11.0m.

However, after so long outside the top flight, Forest had to significantly invest in the squad “to give the team the best opportunity to compete in the Premier League”.

As a result, Forest’s wages rose £86m from £59m to £145m, while player amortisation increased by £34m from just £7m to £41m. In addition, other expenses more than doubled from £13m to £28m.

Although Forest’s £67m loss is far from ideal, it’s worth noting that this was by no means the worst result in last season’s Premier League, as no fewer than seven clubs posted larger deficits, namely Aston Villa £120m, Tottenham £95m, Chelsea £90m, Leicester City £90m, Everton £89m, Southampton £87m and Newcastle United £73m.