Plymouth Argyle Finances 2023/24

There'd Better Be A Mirrorball

Plymouth Argyle’s 2023/24 financial results cover their return to the Championship for the first time since 2010, following the previous year’s promotion from League One.

The club described this as “a season full of ups and downs”, but Argyle eventually secured their status in England’s second tier with a win on the final day, allowing them to finish one point above the relegation zone in 21st place.

In December they had lost the services of head coach Steven Schumacher, who was headhunted by Stoke City. The man who led them to promotion was replaced by Ian Foster, but the former England U-20 coach lasted less than three months after a run of just one win in 12 games.

Director of football, Neil Dewsnip, then took over on an interim basis until the end of the season, when he was succeeded by no less a figure than Wayne Rooney, one of the greatest English footballers of all time.

League Position

Argyle have come a long way since they entered administration in 2011, when the club was deducted 10 points, leading to relegation to League Two, where they only just avoided dropping out of the football league.

James Brent bought the club, took it out of administration and steadied the ship. He then stepped aside in 2018, allowing Simon Hallett to became the majority shareholder before taking on the role of chairman.

Hallett’s arrival was not enough to prevent another relegation to the fourth tier, but the club has made excellent progress since then. Argyle bounced back to League One at the first attempt and have steadily improved, leading to promotion back to the Championship after 13 long years away.

There is often a price to pay for promotion, as clubs invest significant sums to give themselves a better chance on the pitch, so let’s take a look at the latest accounts to see how close Argyle are to their objective of financial sustainability.

Profit/(Loss) 2023/24

Following promotion, Argyle’s pre-tax loss narrowed from £3.4m to £2.4m, as revenue shot up by £10.9m (74%) from £14.7 to a club record £25.6m, though this was largely offset by the “increased operating costs of competing in the Championship”.

As a result, expenses rose £10.7m (58%) from £18.6m to £29.3m, including the financial impact of the various changes in coaching staff. The previous season had featured once-off costs triggered by promotion, but 2023/24 would have included survival bonuses.

Profit on player sales was up from £0.3m to £0.8m, though this figure probably also included the compensation received from Stoke City for Schumacher.

The main driver of Argyle’s revenue growth was broadcasting, thanks to the higher TV deal in the Championship, which led to income more than tripling from £3.0m to £10.6m. However, there was also good growth elsewhere, as commercial rose £2.5m (34%) from £7.1m to £9.6m, while match day was up £0.9m (20%) from £4.6m to £5.5m.

Consequently, the club established new records for all three revenue streams.

However, much of Argyle’s revenue growth was eaten up by higher expenses, following investment in the squad. Wages rose £7.8m (85%) from £9.1m to £16.9m, while player amortisation surged from £0.2m to £1.0m.

In addition, other expenses were nearly a third higher, rising by £2.4m from £7.7m to £10.1m. Depreciation increased by £0.2m to £1.1m, but goodwill amortisation more than halved from £0.7m to £0.3m.