By David Owen
January 8 – Rising payroll costs were partly responsible for pushing Chelsea back into the red last season, new figures have shown. The Chelsea FC company accounts for the year to 30 June 2015 put aggregate payroll costs at £215.6 million, up from £190.6 million, an increase of 13%.
This helped push operating expenses at the struggling Premier League champions, who recently replaced José Mourinho as manager with Guus Hiddink, to £378 million, resulting in a group operating loss of £63.7 million. A £42 million profit on the sale of players including in-form Romelu Lukaku and Ryan Bertrand was chiefly responsible for restricting the pre-tax loss to £22.7 million.
The result looks set to return the west London club to a position among the back markers in the Premier League profits table after the previous year’s £19.1 million pre-tax profit.
With nine clubs having so far reported, Chelsea’s pre-tax loss is comfortably the biggest to date, ahead of Everton and Manchester United. The remaining six all registered pre-tax profits, the largest being Arsenal’s £24.7 million.
Chelsea’s accounts state that the football club’s parent company, Fordstam Limited, “which is supported by the ultimate owner Mr R. Abramovich”, increased funding by £46.7 million in 2014-15, after an increase of £57.1 million the previous year. Notes suggest that £27 million of the latest contribution has been converted to equity.
The accounts also reveal a £1.5 million payment to a director as compensation for loss of office. There is no direct indication as to who this money was paid to. However, of the four directors who held office during the year, Ron Gourlay, former chief executive, resigned on 22 October 2014.
The accounts also state that the group disposed of a foreign subsidiary called Burnaby LLP during the year. This is described as a partnership registered in Jersey.
A note subsequently elaborates: “The holding in Burnaby Investments LP was sold by Briskspring Limited to Cetus Investments Limited at its net book value of €9,855,769. Both parties are under the ultimate control of Mr R.Abramovich.”
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