Football and operational highlights
First season in Premier League, our first in the top flight in 74 years
Achieved 13th-place finish in the Premier League
The club retained its top playing talent and recruited prudently including the high-profile signing of Christian Eriksen
Significant investment made to grow the club’s on-field and off-field capability
Fans were welcomed back to a full-capacity stadium post-pandemic
Ranked first in the league for matchday fan experience in league-wide survey
Commercial revenues grew to £15m (2021: £4.1m)
Successful kit rollover – home kit unchanged for two seasons to provide added value for money to fans and support sustainability efforts
Voted as Sport Organisation of the Year at the prestigious Sports Industry Awards
Financial highlights
Club-record turnover of £140.9m (2021: £15.3m)
Operating profit before player trading was £25.1m (2021: loss of £53.2m)
Profit before taxation was a record £29.9m (2021: loss of £8.5m), including the profit on disposal of players which was £4.6m (2021: profit of £44.3m)
Cash held at the balance sheet date was £15.7m (2021: £12.9m)
Profit after tax was £25.7m (2021: loss of £2.4m)
Third-party debt is £0.7m (2021: £19.9m)
Brentford FC has today announced its annual financial results for the year-ended 30 June 2022.
The results cover the club’s first-ever season competing in the Premier League and its return to the top flight of English football for the first time in 74 years.
These accounts show a club-record turnover of £140.9m (2021: £15.3m), driven primarily by the huge increase in central distributions from the Premier League, as well as strong growth in commercial and matchday revenue streams following the welcome return of fans post-pandemic into the new Gtech Community Stadium.
The financial statements for the year under review show a group operating profit before player trading of £25.1m (2021: loss of £53.2m).
The significant turnover increase somewhat offset by increased administrative expenses of £45.4m, driven by player wage and player amortisation growth, a natural consequence of investment in a playing squad capable of competing at Premier League level.
Profit on player trading is much reduced in the current year at £4.6m (2021: £44.3m), with the club able to keep hold of its key assets given the significant increase in revenue streams.
The profit generated in the current year is driven primarily by contingent events triggered in the 2021/22 season but linked to historical player sales.
The result of the above factors meant that the group reported a record profit before taxation of £29.9m (2021: loss of £8.5m).
Matthew Benham’s total investment in the group at 30 June 2022, comprised of equity and loans, stood at £104.4m (2021: £104.0m). This sum includes £22.8m (2021: £22.4m) of loans specifically in relation to the stadium project.
Cliff Crown, chair of Brentford FC, said: “The impact created by the promotion to the Premier League has been game changing. Promotion was a culmination of years of planning, investment and hard work throughout the club.
“As you will read, our financial results, fuelled by central broadcasting distributions and increased commercial revenues, are positive. It is not uncommon for newly promoted clubs to make a healthy profit in their first season in the Premier League, which we managed to do.
“We were also able to resist interest in our players. We did not need to sell our players to balance the books, which had been fundamental to our business model in recent years.
“It is worth noting however, that despite the scale of the Premier League broadcast distributions, we do not discount player trading in the future.
“In recent years, whenever we have sold a player, we have been able to reinvest in the team. Thanks to strong recruitment, excellent player development and coaching and the application of the players, we have been able to improve the squad. We will aim to do this again in the future.
Read: Brentford FC annual report and financial statements
“Our investment strategy throughout the 2021/22 financial year has also enabled us to make further player acquisitions in the summer of 2022 which will be reported on in the next set of financial statements.
“These financial results reflect the board's historic prudence in spending money wisely while concurrently building the club's on-field and off-field organisation capability and investing in the club's infrastructure.
“Looking forward, in a deteriorating economic environment in which higher salary and overhead costs remain essential to our retaining Premier League status, this financial performance will be difficult to repeat. The board remain fully committed to building the club in a financially sustainable and responsible manner.
“Our internal motto right across the club last season was simple: thrive, not just survive. We were determined to be an asset to the Premier League. We did not, and do not want to be there just to make up the numbers and I am proud of the way our fans, our staff and our players responded and applied themselves to the challenge.”