Walsall FC have issued their financial statement for the year ending May 2024 revealing a loss of some £1,783,000 after investing in things such as the recently-renovated Locker, and other sites in and around the Poundland Bescot Stadium.Speaking on behalf of the club, co-chairman Ben Boycott insisted that the Trivela Group's investment leaves the club in a strong position for the future.
The loss, which is just the second in some eighteen years, also includes interest accruals on funds injected into the club for the purchase of Bescot Stadium, along with an increase in Mat Sadler's playing budget and other staffing costs.
The Club generated a revenue of £6.7million, a decrease of just over 12 per cent from their turnover of £7.615million from the previous year, though match receipts increased to £1.337m up from £1.263m the year before.
Issued via their official website, Boycott's statement reads; We have today filed our Annual Accounts with Companies House for the period to 31st May 2024, and in the interest of our ongoing commitment to transparency with our supporters and stakeholders, Co-Chairman Ben Boycott has penned the accompanying report below:
On behalf of myself, my business partners at Trivela Group, and the rest of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to present the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 May 2024.
The key headlines for this year were building for the future in a number of ways. These included:
- Football Department: This was the first full season under Head Coach Mat Sadler, and he along with our recruitment team at Trivela worked through both transfer windows to continue to build a core squad of players who fit our culture and style. The First Team finished 11th on 65 points, which was our best finish in League Two since relegation back in 2019.
- Facilities: This year saw significant capital investment, including the total renovation of the Saddlers’ Club into the new Locker facility, as well as a number of close-season upgrades to the Stadium.
- Personnel: This year saw the significant expansion of the clubs Strategic Leadership Team, with Trivela funding a major investment in personnel to grow the long-term future of the Football Club and its ability to operate sustainably and generate increased revenue.
- In addition to our strategic decision to invest significantly on a number of fronts, the Club experienced financial headwinds in terms of significant cost inflation in English football and in the economy at large. In addition, the returns generated through “football fortune income” (transfer fees, cup prize monies, etc…) were much lower than historical averages.
The net effect of all of this was a loss of £1.783 million, with this figure including significant depreciation on the Poundland Bescot Stadium property which was acquired in December of 2022 – this being the first full year of ownership. The loss also includes interest accruals on monies injected by Trivela Group UK, so the more relevant figure would be our operating result/EBITDA of (£914,000).
Whilst at the beginning of the year we expected to see the results of our significant operational investment in the Locker pre-opening, the football department, and the SLT, this was again exacerbated by overall economic and industry financial headwinds, and by lower-than-average football fortune income. However, I remain confident that these financial investments have grown the Football Club’s capacity to operate sustainably and generate additional revenue in the long term and that we will be seeing the financial fruits of these investments for years to come.
In keeping with these results and decisions, we have seen some significant movement on the balance sheet as well, with the net indebtedness increasing primarily due to debt injections from Trivela Group UK. These funds were utilised by the club to supplement the operating result described above, retire approximately £440,000 in third-party debt, and invest approximately £1.1m in capital, including the Locker renovation and various Stadium projects.
With Trivela Group UK LLC owning the majority of the equity of the football club, the use of debt injection to make these investments (as opposed to equity) is merely a function of simplicity and practicality.
As always, I would like to acknowledge the Club’s Sponsors and Commercial Partners who continued their support throughout the year. In particular, I would like to thank Poundland, NoFo Brew Co., Pallet-Track, Howard Evans, SPV Special Projects, Tile Choice, B.A.T Fabrications, Experienced Energy Solutions, RayGray Snacks, S&S Steelstock Ltd, Dains Accountants Ltd, HomeServe, Excel Print, Guardian Support, Bailey & Mackey Ltd, J Haywards & Sons (Walsall) Ltd and Brellis Recruitment.
I would also like to pay tribute to the Walsall FC Foundation Team who continued to support the Club and to deliver services within the local community touching the lives of tens of thousands of local people.
Despite this loss-making result, I remain extremely confident in the stability of this club moving forward, and its ability to operate sustainably. This is especially true given the significant investments that we have made over the course of this year in growing our organisational capacity by growing our leadership team and growing our long-term revenue generating ability by significantly enhancing our physical infrastructure at Bescot Stadium. Both the club and Trivela are in a strong position, and we look forward to a very bright future for Walsall FC, both on the pitch and off.
Finally, and most importantly, on behalf of everyone at Walsall Football Club I would like to say a huge thank you to all Supporters who continue to back the Club for their unwavering support. Thank you for your support of this Football Club, and my partners and I at Trivela are fully committed to the long-term success of this Football Club.
In accordance with UK company law, the Club will no longer hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM), as all relevant information is publicly published alongside the Co-Chairman’s Report. We encourage Shareholders & Supporters to raise any queries they may have directly with the Club or through our regular fan forums.
