Quote ="Tony Fax"A few more 2023 accounts re Championship clubs: Sheffield - Loss of £283k; net liabilities of £209k Widnes - Loss of £280k; net liabilities of 34k York - Loss of £380k; net liabilities of £580k Swinton - Loss of £60k; but wait for it .... NET ASSETS of £75k !!!!! They're solvent! But the assets include £150k of goodwill re the purchase of a business, so god knows what that is and if it really is worth that much?'" Any mentioned of Swinton receiving an initial loan of £100 grand from Salford Council with another one for the same amount being approved and to follow? https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... FRD8fEp0aw

Quote ="Tony Fax"A few more 2023 accounts re Championship clubs: Sheffield - Loss of £283k; net liabilities of £209k Widnes - Loss of £280k; net liabilities of 34k York - Loss of £380k; net liabilities of £580k Swinton - Loss of £60k; but wait for it .... NET ASSETS of £75k !!!!! They're solvent! But the assets include £150k of goodwill re the purchase of a business, so god knows what that is and if it really is worth that much?'" Any mentioned of Swinton receiving an initial loan of £100 grand from Salford Council with another one for the same amount being approved and to follow? https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... FRD8fEp0aw

Quote ="faxcar"Any mentioned of Swinton receiving an initial loan of £100 grand from Salford Council with another one for the same amount being approved and to follow? https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... FRD8fEp0aw'" The accounts are for the year ended 30/11/2023 so the loan has happened after the year end. Loans as at 30/11/23 = £61k and doesn't say who owed to. The odd thing about Swinton's accounts is the average number of employees for the year is 6 (28 the year before) so I wonder if the players are self employed? Is that allowed? Fax had 33 employees. Employees will also include backroom staff and directors. Bradford's average number of employees was 133 ............... !!!!!

Quote ="faxcar"Any mentioned of Swinton receiving an initial loan of £100 grand from Salford Council with another one for the same amount being approved and to follow? https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... FRD8fEp0aw'" The accounts are for the year ended 30/11/2023 so the loan has happened after the year end. Loans as at 30/11/23 = £61k and doesn't say who owed to. The odd thing about Swinton's accounts is the average number of employees for the year is 6 (28 the year before) so I wonder if the players are self employed? Is that allowed? Fax had 33 employees. Employees will also include backroom staff and directors. Bradford's average number of employees was 133 ............... !!!!!

A significant portion of their debt will be owed to Andrew Chalmers: when he 'sold' the club to Wood and Co he said he wouldn't (ever) try to recoup it, but it didn't get written off

Thats a weird one if they are self employed but under contract and how that would work with the minimum pay rules. They must be on some sort of retainer but will be saving the club a tidy sum in tax and NI payments.

Doesn't make sense. There was a dispute between Leeds and the Tax man quite a few years back when certain Leeds players claimed they were self employed as they were selling their image rights rather than working (as a player) thus saving on not paying NI (employee and employer). Needless to say the Tax Man won. Other sports folk also tried it on, even Harry Gration on Look North and the Super League Show! So could be a tpo on the Swinton accounts. I'll dig out employee numbers on other clubs.

The latest club re 2023 accounts - Wigan. They lost £1.6 million and had net liabilities of £10.5 million, which included an asset of £2.2 million re the training ground at Orrell. They owed £9.4 million to ex director Ian Lenagan's company (he resigned last December). They had 119 employees (less than Bradford!).

Sounds as if the game is in rude health

Good job IMG negotiated an improved Sky TV deal to get more money into the game. Jeez. Why can’t our sport find one single good administrator

I thought the sky deal was reduced again last time but IMG are tasked with trying to improve it although it is never going to happen barring a miracle.

The last championship clubs' 2023 accounts I've dug out is Batley, for the time being, so 8 in total so far. They lost £227k and had net assets of £1.3 million because they own their ground included in fixed assets of £1.9 million. Of the other clubs - Barrow, Whitehaven, Featherstone and Doncaster have later filing deadlines (they may have tinkered around with their year end dates to extend the deadline), Toulouse of course being French don't file their accounts at Companies House, and cannot find Wakefield's new company name since Matthew Ellis took over so help appreciated tracking them down.

To summarise the 8 clubs so far in order of balance sheet strength:

Batley - £1.3m net assets; £(227k) loss; 32 employees
Swinton - £75k net assets; £(60k) loss; 6 employees
Widnes - (£34k) net liabilities; (£280k) loss; 34 employees
Sheffield - (£209k) net liabilities; (£283k) loss; 30 employees
Dewsbury - (£345k) net liabilities; (£100k) loss; 42 employees
Halifax - (£540k) net liabilities; (£200k) loss; 33 employees
York - (£580k) net liabilities; (£380k) loss; 36 employees
Bradford - (£863k) net liabilities; £22k profit; 133 employees

So (so far) we're all basically skint. Wouldn't be surprised if Batley sold their ground to keep afloat. Despite it's ridiculous slope that really would be a tragedy.

I will add the others when they become available and finish the Super League clubs later. Might even have a look at League 1.

There is a chance that Wakey is Spirit of 1873.

Yes, good call Greg, I should have seen that as the old Wakefield Trinity company sold its assets to Spirit of 1873 before it got dissolved.

Wakefield's accounts obviously relate to when they were Super League in 2023 showing them making a profit of £2.7 million, but that included a grant from Wakefield Council for £1.6 million ans a shareholder loan write of of £1,275 million, so stripping them 2 out would show a small loss. They have net assets of £3.5 million but this includes nearly £14 million for the ground and other facilities but creditors include loans building the stuff. They're deferring some further council funding whilst the stadium has/is being constructed, but they look pretty strong nevertheless, that's what we've been competing against, not a cat in hell's chance!

Thanks for this. Very interesting. Those clubs that have “squad builder” type support from the fans, how would that be shown in the accounts? If it’s shown at all? The only reason I’m asking is that the last few players Bradford have signed have all had the line “ and thanks must go to bullbuilder without which this signing would t happen “ . I don’t know how much they actually help in % terms, but it’s obviously helpful

Not 100% certain on this but they normally tend to be separate companies don't they? I presume money then handed over as donations may avoid tax implications.

On the contrary, the SKY deal was revised down as from (and including) 2023. According to Leeds 2023 accounts their annual income from central funding went down from £1.9 million to £1.5 million. Incidentally Leeds lost £1.5m
in 2023 but have a healthy balance sheet at £11.4m net assets because they own the ground from which they make loads of additional revenue - catering, hotel, rental etc. The directors even get paid (£439k in total).

Fax's financial performance over the last 10 years is as follows:

2023 - Loss (£191,974)
2022 - Loss (£316,827)
2021 - Loss (£83,255)
2020 - Profit £171,077
2019 - Profit £56,191
2018 - Profit £463
2017 - Loss (£7,187)
2016 - Profit £80,343
2015 - Loss (£39,173)
2014 - Loss (£135,685)

I think the lucrative "qualifiers" didn't start until 2015, but I stand to be corrected. I just remember 2014 as the season Karl Harrison was sacked and we lost a play off match 29-0 against Dewsbury at the Shay with Muzza as interim coach.

The big profit in 2020 was during covid when the players were furloughed (so claimed back their wages) and many fans didn't ask for season ticket refunds despite the lock down.

The CC semi against Saints probably contributed to a 2019 profit.

Quite obvious though that the loss of central funding (or significant decrease - I've no idea how it's distributed to the Championship clubs, if at all, since the SL pigs have their snouts in the trough) is a killer. Desperately need the Championship to get some big sponsor but very unlikely without some sort of TV coverage - even a "scrumdown" type programme with Channel 4 would help, not too much to ask!

As before the Champ & Champ 1 clubs will find out this month how much CF they are allocated.
Media exposure through TV is a must to bring in sponsor ship with their names / logos being on display on the kit and around the stadium for the cameras.
Problem is not all clubs can agree on it, this years proposal was voted against by the likes of Bradford and Fev and although the RFL had the power to bring it anyway they chose not do so and upset there big buddies at the Bulls.

Gledhill made me laugh as when it was first announced he called it a great lucrative deal until his club voted against it because of fear of losing bums on seats then it quickly changed to a bad idea.



So we limp along on the sidelines in the ever lengthening shadows.

If only Simon Grix had stayed away or better still been a local footballer then it would be FC Town with all these problems

.

Incidentally speaking to Dave Singer a lot recently who’s still avidly supporting Town and he sends his regards.

Why would Bradford and Fev vote against a lucrative deal, and why would it have lost bums on seats?

Quote ="Tony Fax"Why would Bradford and Fev vote against a lucrative deal, and why would it have lost bums on seats?'" Because they thought people would stay at home instead of going and paying through the turnstiles but they weren’t the only ones with the league being split. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... urfk5bo51f

Quote ="Tony Fax"Why would Bradford and Fev vote against a lucrative deal, and why would it have lost bums on seats?'" Because they thought people would stay at home instead of going and paying through the turnstiles but they weren’t the only ones with the league being split. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... urfk5bo51f

Quote ="faxcar"Because they thought people would stay at home instead of going and paying through the turnstiles but they weren’t the only ones with the league being split. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... urfk5bo51f'" I thought Bradford gave away free tickets anyway! Looking at last weekend's attendances, I really don't think they can get much lower even if streamed. Fev's crowds seem to be falling off a cliff - 1,345 against Barrow. Swinton attracted just 1,048 against SL wanabees Wakey who would most likely have taken a few hundred. Toulouse got 2,079 against Sheffield in a top of the table clash. Donny got 1,443 against Fax. The biggest laugh was 3,006 given at Bradford against Dewsbury. I say laugh, because watching the highlights the terracing behind the sticks was empty, the seating stand opposite looked to have 200 tops, so almost 3k must have been in the terracing below the camera. Hmmmm ... maybe a Bulls fan would care to verify this? Batley and Haven didn't disclose their crowds, but they're usually in the mid hundreds. If anything, an interested armchair fan watching a streamed match may be tempted to actually attend the next time round if he/she liked what they saw.

Quote ="faxcar"Because they thought people would stay at home instead of going and paying through the turnstiles but they weren’t the only ones with the league being split. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... urfk5bo51f'" I thought Bradford gave away free tickets anyway! Looking at last weekend's attendances, I really don't think they can get much lower even if streamed. Fev's crowds seem to be falling off a cliff - 1,345 against Barrow. Swinton attracted just 1,048 against SL wanabees Wakey who would most likely have taken a few hundred. Toulouse got 2,079 against Sheffield in a top of the table clash. Donny got 1,443 against Fax. The biggest laugh was 3,006 given at Bradford against Dewsbury. I say laugh, because watching the highlights the terracing behind the sticks was empty, the seating stand opposite looked to have 200 tops, so almost 3k must have been in the terracing below the camera. Hmmmm ... maybe a Bulls fan would care to verify this? Batley and Haven didn't disclose their crowds, but they're usually in the mid hundreds. If anything, an interested armchair fan watching a streamed match may be tempted to actually attend the next time round if he/she liked what they saw.

Just posting what I’d read and included the link.

On attending where you had to pay I’m sure I read someone somewhere had been put off by the admission prices and was now becoming a armchair fan.

I think the user name was something like Foney Tax or similar.

Its hard to see the game continuing as semi professional at this level, teams losing money hand over fist. I think our average is down around 400-500 or so from previous seasons and the Wakefield game was the lowest attendance I have seen from Fax fans in a long time. Without a money man most teams are basically insolvent unless they are fortunate enough to own their own ground.

Too right, faxcar, , even though I don't think I'll ever become a 100% armchair fan unless the admission continues to go up!

But alas, I'm not immortal and one day I would hope I will be replaced by a "new" fax fan when I'm finally laid to rest.. But that's where I think the "churn" has now hit a brick wall. I reckon there's about 1,300 all weather fax fans left. How many of those are new in the past 10 years do you reckon? Anyone's guess. 100? 1,000? Hardly any IMO.

Not just Fax. Look at the attendances. Fev! Sheffield! Even Widnes struggle to break 2k.

Haven will be the first. Then wait for the rest .........................

I honestly just don’t know what’s going to happen but as you say the empty terraces can’t be disputed.

Fax could be one of the first to go as we’ve got serious challenges in the board room, on the field with performance and off the field with the stadium issues all here at the same time.

Maybe so, but I think Fax will always be around even if it's a mid table League 1 club.

Still waiting for London and Warrington to file their accounts (they're both overdue - maybe the IMG should deduct them points?) then I'll summarise the SL clubs.

https://halifaxpanthers.co.uk/panthers- ... -panthers/ Looking bleak for us.

https://halifaxpanthers.co.uk/panthers- ... -panthers/ Looking bleak for us.