West Ham Finances 2023/24

One Specific Thing

West Ham’s 2023/24 accounts covered a season when they finished ninth in the league, which the club said meant that it was “able to secure its core aim of maintaining Premier League status for a thirteenth consecutive season”.

The Hammers also progressed to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, where they were eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen. They reached the same stage of the Carabao Cup, but exited the FA Cup in the third round.

Long-serving manager David Moyes left at the end of the season after his contract expired, when he was replaced by experienced Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui.

Profit/(Loss) 2023/24

West Ham delivered very impressive financial results with a £57m pre-tax profit, which represented a £75m improvement over the previous year’s £18m loss, mainly due to profit from player sales surging from £17m to £96m.

In addition, revenue rose £33m (14%) from £237m to £270m, which was a new club record.

However, this was partially offset by significant growth in operating expenses, which increased by £51m (20%) from £256m to £307m.

On the other hand, net interest payable dropped £10m (55%) from £18m to £8m, though this is largely down to technical bookings for implied interest on transfer fees payable and receivable.

Revenue growth was driven “once again by strong on the field performance”, i.e. an improved position in the Premier League and competing in a better European competition.

The star of the show was broadcasting, which rose £19m (13%) from £148m to £167m, but there were also good increases in commercial, up £10m (21%) from £48m to £58m, and match day, up £4m (9%) from £41m to £45m. All three revenue streams set new highs for the club.

In addition, other operating income almost tripled from £2.5m to £6.9m.

West Ham’s recent investment in the squad led to growth in both wages, which rose £24m (18%) from £137m to £161m, and player amortisation, up £18m (28%) from £65m to £83m.

Other expenses also shot up £13m (27%) from £47m to £60m, though exceptional charges reduced from £3.9m to £0.6m.

Only three Premier League clubs have so far published accounts for 2023/24, so comparisons with the others are based on the latest available figures from the 2022/23 season.

That said, it is clear that West Ham’s £57m pre-tax profit is an excellent performance, only surpassed by Brighton £133m and Manchester City £74m. This is very different from the large losses reported elsewhere, especially Manchester United’s £131m last season, while half of the clubs lost more than £50m in 2022/23.

Player Sales 2023/24

However, the club was the first to admit that the primary reason for the steep improvement in the bottom line was the higher profit on player sales, which massively increased from £17m to £96m, another new record for the club.

This was very largely due to the sale of Academy graduate Declan Rice to Arsenal, though they also made money from a few other deals, including Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta, Nikola Vlasic to Torino and Pablo Fornals to Real Betis,