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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Jon Robinson

Losses widen to nearly £20m at Preston North End despite ticket sales rise

Losses at Championship football club Preston North End widened to nearly £20m during their latest financial year.

Newly-published documents for the 12 months to June 30, 2022 show the club's pre-tax losses totalled over £18.8m.

The figure compares to the £15.9m the club lost during the previous year.

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The accounts also show Preston's turnover increased from £10.5m to £12.4m in the year.

Their parent company, Deeodale PNE Holdings Ltd, reported a turnover of £13.8m, up from £11.9m, and pre-tax losses of £20.1m, compared to losses of £17.7m in the prior 12 months.

A statement signed off by the board said: "Supporters had not been permitted to attend fixtures in the prior year due to Covid-19 restrictions.

"The increase in turnover mainly relates to season ticket and match day ticket sales.

"Operating cash flow continues to be adverse as the club has contracted a squad with wages which are high in comparison to its revenue.

"The company has therefore continued to be reliant on the financial support of its shareholder."

Season and match day ticket sales jumped from £550,000 to £3m while TV rights dipped from £8.8m to £8m.

Commercial and media revenue rose from £983,000 to £1.1m and merchandising went from £111,000 to £163,000.

Chairman Craig Hemmings said: "The season 2021/22 was a difficult one for a number of reasons. It was the first full season back with crowds into Deepdale following all of the Covid-19 restrictions, and, as was felt across the whole of the football pyramid, we experienced the nervousness of some fans returning to stadiums. In the first half of the season we changed managers, as results on the pitch were just not good enough.

"And most significantly, it was the season we lost our owner, my father, Trevor Hemmings CVO. We all at the club hope to further his legacy.

"Football results in the second half of the season were much improved under new manager Ryan Lowe, with us ending the season a commendable 13th in the league.

"This achievement, though below our initial expectations for the season, is best understood in the context of us having to compete with teams with significantly higher wage bills, a number of whom receive tens of millions in parachute payments from the Premier League."

Director Peter Ridsdale added: "Since the year end, some good progress has been made by the club in reducing the annual cash deficit to the owners.

"With the aid of incredible fan engagement and support, we had one of the best ever season ticket campaigns, with close to 12,000 season tickets being sold to fans of PNE.

"The most sold for over 60 years. Also, the summer transfer window facilitated a major playing squad overhaul. 16 players exited the club, and six new players were brought in to fill key positions in the squad."

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