Soccer

Strong commercial performance cushions Liverpool’s pre-tax loss

Club says figures demonstrate the initial financial impact of the pandemic

In March 2020 the club announced a profit of €48m, the fifth time in the previous six years Liverpool had been in the black, but that surplus was wiped out as a result of last season initially being suspended in March and then restarted behind closed doors. File photograph: Getty Images
In March 2020 the club announced a profit of €48m, the fifth time in the previous six years Liverpool had been in the black, but that surplus was wiped out as a result of last season initially being suspended in March and then restarted behind closed doors. File photograph: Getty Images
Andy Hunter
Tue Apr 27 2021 - 10:06

Liverpool’s media revenue fell by £59m (€68m) and match-day revenue by £13m (€15m) in the first three months of the pandemic, the club’s latest accounts have revealed.

The full scale of the pandemic's impact on football finances remains unclear, with limited crowds only just being allowed back at test events, but Liverpool believe it has cost them at least £120m in lost revenue since March 2020.

On Tuesday the club posted financial results for the year to May 31st 2020, a period that covers only three months of the current 13-month crisis. As a result of the Premier League season being suspended in March 2020 and completed behind closed doors in July, when Jürgen Klopp’s team won the club’s first title in 30 years, media income at Liverpool dropped by £59m to £202m.

Four fewer Premier League home games during this period meant match-day revenue declined by £13m to £71m.

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Liverpool’s overall revenue was down by £43m to £490m and the club suffered a pre-tax loss of £46m (€53m). The losses were cushioned, however, by strong commercial performance. Eight new partnerships, sponsorship renewals with Nivea and Carlsberg, record sales of the new Nike home kit and new retail stores in Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam helped increase commercial revenue by £29m to £217m.

Fenway Sports Group, the club’s owner, has been widely condemned for playing a leading role in the Super League fiasco that would have netted Liverpool and the other founding clubs £300m per season before a ball had been kicked. FSG recently sold a 10 per cent stake of its business to the private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners for £543m, enabling Liverpool to continue with plans to redevelop the Anfield Road stand and invest in player recruitment at pre-pandemic levels.

Andy Hughes, Liverpool's managing director, said: "This financial reporting period was up to May 2020, so approaching a year ago now. It does, however, begin to demonstrate the initial financial impact of the pandemic and the significant reductions in key revenue streams. We were in a solid financial position prior to the pandemic and since this reporting period we have continued to manage our costs effectively and navigate our way through such an unprecedented period." - Guardian