By David Owen
March 30 – Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club leading the pursuit of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, have given details of another highly satisfactory financial performance.
Profit for the year to June 30, after interest and tax, was put at £33 million. The club also reported a hefty positive swing in its year-end cash position to net cash of £47.6 million, versus net debt of £20.8 million a year earlier.
Spurs, which claims to have a waiting list for season tickets of more than 63,000 people, is in the process of building a new stadium adjacent to its historical White Hart Lane base. It had been expected to utilise Wembley for home fixtures next season, while the new project is completed.
However, in a statement accompanying the results, Daniel Levy, chairman, avoided fixing a date for the White Hart Lane departure. “Whilst everyone is eager to know if this is our last season at the Lane,” he said, “we shall only make the decision to decommission our historic White Hart Lane when we have greater certainty on the delivery of the new stadium”.
The club said that progress of the construction programme at the so-called Northumberland Development Project, and the delivery timetable for the new stadium and associated public sector infrastructure works were being “closely monitored”.
Revenue for 2015-16 topped the £200 million mark at a record £209.8 million, up 7%, largely owing to increased proceeds from the Europa League. Television and media revenues accounted for not far off half of the overall figure, rising to £94.8 million, up £4.3 million from 2014-15.
Profit from operations, excluding football trading and before exceptional items and depreciation, was £63.3 million, up from £46.7 million.
The club made a string of player sales during the period in question, with Roberto Soldado and Andros Townsend among the highest-profile departures. Arrivals included Toby Alderweireld, the Belgian centre-back now recognised as one of the Premier League’s most accomplished defenders.
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