Brighton and Hove Albion have filed annual accounts for the historic 2022/23 season, one which saw Roberto De Zerbi lead the club to our highest ever position and into Europe for the first time ever.
As the Seagulls soared on the pitch — as well as a record Premier League position, the club also reached an FA Cup semi-final — so too did revenue off the pitch: profit after tax jumped from £24.1m in the previous financial year to £122.8m.
Turnover for the period was the club’s highest ever — up by 17.2% to £204.5m, against £174.5m in 2021/22 – thanks to a number of factors, including Albion’s best ever sixth-place finish, and the related higher merit payment from the Premier League, and our progress to the semi-final of the FA Cup.
The figures include the fees received for Alexis Mac Allister, Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella, as well as compensation for Graham Potter’s move to Chelsea; but they do not include fees received for the sales of Moises Caicedo and Robert Sanchez, both of which were concluded after 30 June 2023, the end date for these accounts.
Deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber said, “These accounts will of course catch the eye, because of the headline number. In a season when we made history on the pitch, we took a huge step forward in terms of the club’s long-held aim of becoming more sustainable and less reliant on Tony Bloom’s incredibly generous levels of investment.
“For the first time since Tony made his first interest free loan to the club back in 2007, we have been able to make a substantial re-payment to him reducing the loan balance from £406.5m to £373.3m.
“Our profitability also means we can further improve our infrastructure with a significant multi-million pound investment in a new external fan zone which, subject to planning, will be completed in summer 2024.
“We now have a very solid platform to continue to make significant progress on the pitch, by investing in our squad, and off the pitch by making the match day experience even more enjoyable for our supporters, all of which we believe will help us to continue to grow.
“The dream is to be regularly challenging for a European place and for silverware. We are very proud of Roberto, the work he and his staff have done, and of course the performance levels of our squad.
“As ever we are hugely grateful to Tony Bloom for his clear vision, his world class ownership of our club, and his ongoing financial support. Similarly, we are extremely fortunate to have a top quality board, who provide us with great stability and guidance; and top level staff in all areas of the club.
“Once again, on behalf of everyone connected to the club, I would like to thank Tony for his incredible and ongoing commitment.”
The club has once again taken the step of making the annual accounts publicly available to all supporters
Albion have also announced that Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman Paul Barber will remain at the club until at least 2030
The Seagulls travel to Brentford in the Premier League later today. (April 3)
