Rangers were finally back in the black last year as the sale of Nathan Patterson and the Europa League run to Seville helped generate a £5.9million profit.
But the extent of the club’s costly court battle with Mike Ashley has at last been laid bare, with last year’s accounts showing the club was forced to fork out £8.25m to get the Sports Direct tycoon off their backs. The annual figures up to June 30 also revealed Rangers have had to shell out £14.3m to repay loans put in by the club’s boardroom backers.
But even with those significant outgoings, Ibrox chiefs were still able to record a club record turnover of £86.8m as they bounced back from operating losses totalling £23.5m during the Covid-hit 2021/22 campaign. The surge to Seville made up a substantial chunk of that income, with UEFA prize money, ticket sales and TV cash contributing £30.5m to club coffers.
January’s sale of Patterson to Everton also saw player trading profits worth £11.2m while former boss Steven Gerrard’s move to Aston Villa saw the Light Blues bank a £4.25m compensation cheque. First-team wages were on the rise to £37.8m but that figure represents just 44 percent of turnover compared to 70 percent the previous year.
Operating costs also doubled to £28.3m but much of that increase was accounted for in matchday expenses when compared to the season before, which was played behind closed doors as the pandemic forced clubs to bolt up their turnstiles. Gers have cash reserves of £13.1million and have also settled a £5million loan with former boardroom chief Dave King and another £6.55m facility with current vice-chairman John Bennett. Shareholders’ loans worth £5.8m were also converted into shares last year.
The cost of rebuilding the club following its 2012 financial implosion has been more than £100million in losses over the past decade. But for the first time since then, Rangers’ auditors have been able to declare there is no 'material uncertainty' over the club’s going concern status.
The period covered by the accounts does not include the summer sales of Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey to Southampton and Ajax, which raised a combined sum of more than £26million, or this season’s money-spinning return to the Champions League. And chairman Douglas Park is adamant the club's financial outlook will only continue to improve in future.
In his statement to shareholders ahead of the club’s AGM on December 6, he said: “The past year has provided many highs and lows, along with challenges both on and off the park, but ultimately, I believe we are continuing to grow stronger as a club.
"This time last year, I repeated my belief from 2015 when this current board took control of the club, that this would be a 10-year recovery project. While there have been moments in the last year that have exceeded both my own and the board’s expectations (with specific reference to the Europa League run to the final) we cannot, and will not, stand still and continue to have so much more to do.”
The report comes as boss Gio van Bronckhorst and sporting director Ross Wilson face increasing frustration from fans over this season’s displays, which have seen the club crash out of the Champions League with the competition’s worst-ever group-stage record and fall seven points behind Celtic in the title race.
But there was a vote of confidence for Wilson as Park added: “On joining the club, Ross Wilson was mandated to build a modern football department. Player trading success was essential to this, as it is a key revenue stream for the majority of European clubs.
“We are pleased that in the last twelve months, we have achieved two club record sales through our player recruitment and player development processes. Off the field, and allied to performance on the pitch, we have continued to make enormous strides.”
