Club financial analysis: Blackburn Rovers FC 2022/23
Game State's analysis of Blackburn Rovers FC's 2022/23 financial results.
Note: this piece originally appeared as a thread on X.com, published on 9 April 2024. It has been reproduced here for posterity and is not intended to be read as a separate and/or different article to the original thread.
Blackburn Rovers lost £20.9m in 2022/23, a year when they finished seventh in EFL Championship, missing out on play-offs on goal difference
#Rovers figs:
Revenue £21m (27%)
Wages £25.8m (6%)
Wage to rev 123% (23%)
Op loss £20.9m (3%)
Debt £141.5m (13%)
#Rovers loss increased £9.7m (87%) from 2021/22 £11.2m deficit, driven entirely by a reduction in player sale profits. Club booked just £0.3m player profits vs £10m a year earlier (Adam Armstrong to #SaintsFC). Recent sale of Adam Wharton to #CPFC will see big boost to 23/24 figs
2023 was Blackburn's 11th-consecutive loss-making year, their most recent profitable season coming in their last EPL season in 2011/12 #Rovers pre-tax loss in last decade: £173.3m
#Rovers are the 19th EFL Championship club to post 2022/23 financials and the 18th to post a loss, with only Watford bucking the trend Blackburn £20.9m loss is the sixth-largest deficit among second tier clubs Net divisional loss across 19 clubs: £258.3m
#Rovers £25.8m wage bill is 10th-highest among 19 clubs to disclose 2022/23 numbers, so bang in the middle of the pack By finishing seventh, club outperformed its wage bill - though still sits among glut of EFL Championship clubs that spent £20-30m on wages yet didn't go up
For first time under Venky's ownership, Blackburn Rovers' debt figure fell noticeably, as £21.7m share issue converted portion of debt to equity, reducing #Rovers gross debt to £141.5m. Follows £29.6m share issue in 2021 #Rovers financial debt still third-highest in second tier
#Rovers address issue of ownership difficulties sending funds from India to UK, noting club would struggle to trade if courts barred Venky's from remitting money
But highlights permission already granted twice - £3.5m Jun-23 and £11m Oct-23 - so expectation is this will continue
#Rovers applied for further injection of funds in Jan-24, though accts signed off in December so unknown if this was granted or sale of Adam Wharton covered cashflow hole
Accts note 'no adverse findings specifically in relation to BRFC' and club 'not under any investigation'
From FFP/PSR perspective, Blackburn were fine in 2022/23, coming in estimated £20.2m under £39m upper loss limit
#Rovers PSR result would have been £13m worse off if not for profit booked on sale of training ground to owners in 2021 - still would have complied in current period
#Rovers should be fine from PSR perspective this season too, with an estimated £29.5m of FFP headroom following deductions
Loss of £20.9m last season can't grow too much, but big sale of Wharton in January ensured no issues
