By David Owen
April 17 – Leeds United, one-time giants of the English game who were lying top of the second-tier Championship when the season was put into cold storage because of coronavirus, have posted a big loss for the 2018-19 financial year.
The Yorkshire club reported a pre-tax loss of £21.4 million for the year to end-June. This compares with a loss of £4.3 million the previous year.
The main underlying cause of the deterioration was a near 50% jump in staff costs, as the club strove, and narrowly failed, to achieve promotion under Marcelo Bielsa, the revered Argentinean coach. At £46.2 million, wage costs absorbed nearly all the club’s turnover of £48.9 million.
The main contributors to this top-line figure were gate receipts, which generated £12.6 million, and commercial revenue with £11.9 million. TV and broadcasting income was put at less than £1.5 million, far below the levels the club could expect in the Premiership, though central distributions added a further £7.65 million.
The club is controlled by Andrea Radrizzani, who initially bought into it in 2017. The ultimate parent company is Singapore-registered Aser Group Holding.
Earlier in the season, there was talk of possible Qatari investment in the club, with three parties in all said to be interested in taking a stake.
Leeds vied for a time with Liverpool for supremacy in the English game in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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