Losses at Middlesbrough Football Club have narrowed to £19.4m as turnover was boosted by fans returning to the stands and income from sponsorship deals.
Newly published accounts for the club, which came seventh in the EFL Championship last season, show turnover recovered to £26.8m in the year to the end of June, up from £14.6m in the same period of 2021. The rise was partly thanks to £6.4m in gate receipts and £6.5m in sponsorship and commercial deals.
However the results mark three consecutive years of loss making for the club which depends on the financial support of its parent company - The Gibson O'Neill Company, run by chairman Steve Gibson. Just £36,000 in ticket sales was reported in the previous financial year as the majority of games were closed to fans while Covid restrictions remained in place.
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Middlesbrough said it earned £3.04m on the back of its FA Cup campaign last season which saw it reach the quarter finals before being knocked out by Chelsea. So far this season the club is sitting 15th in the Championship table after the departure of manager Chris Wilder in October following 11 months at the helm.
He was replaced by former England International and Manchester United star Michael Carrick who is seen to have instigated a turnaround in form, leading the team to secure 10 points from the first 15 available. The accounts also show Middlesbrough's wage bill - which includes 82 playing staff and 149 other employees - has risen to £25m, from £23.8m in 2021.
In an update covering events since the end of the accounting period, the club also said it had generated net income of £13m from player transfers including three that transferred out of the club and four that left at the end of their contracts. Reference to "ongoing disputes with third parties" led to £2.7m received, though no further information was given.
Writing in a report accompany the accounts, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson said the club was still striving for Premier League promotion. He said: "Government restrictions imposed on football stadia to tackle social distancing concerns have significantly hampered the company's ability to generate income in its usual manner, both from a matchday and non-matchday perspective. The company does not foresee Government measures caused by the pandemic having future financial impact."
The club also noted the retirement of former chief executive and director Keith Lamb from its board - thanking him for "building the squad of the late 1990s and early 2000s which brought considerable success for the club".
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