Another defeat for Spurs, as Levy welcomes the changes to come in the FFP.

By David Owen

February 13 – Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club whose local rivals Arsenal have topped the Premier League table, have suffered a third successive annual defeat.

This despite enjoying a first full season of supporters at the club's impressive new stadium. Although this generated £106.1million in correspondence receipt revenue for the year to the end of June 2022, the post-tax loss was still £50.1million. This follows pre-tax losses of £80.2m and £67.7m respectively for the previous two covid-affected seasons.

These match receipts were largely responsible for an almost 23% increase in total revenue to £444m. Sponsorship and merchandising revenue also rose, to £183.5m, but with the club consigned to the Europa Conference League for the season, UEFA prize money was just £10. £2 million. It will be much higher in the current fiscal year, as Antonio Conte's men battled hard to face AC Milan in the Champions League Round of 16.

Television and media revenue fell by more than £40m to £144.2m, a drop attributed to games in 2020 being played and counted in 2021.

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Operating expenses exceeded £400m to £403.4m. This was attributed to rising player costs and a return to full matchday operations. Chairman Daniel Levy said 'current world events' as well as Brexit have resulted in 'increased costs in our supply chains, a tripling of energy prices, an increase in commercial tariffs and an interruption in deliveries ".

In his statement, Levy also explained what he called the dramatically changing landscape of the Premier League over the past decade.

He said: "We are competing in a league in which we have seen an increase in sovereign wealth ownership and consortium funding; and in a league where purchasing power is now in the hands of of a few who dominate and have the ability to distort the market.”

He said the club welcomed “changes to the governance of the game which will mandate greater financial sustainability and Financial Fair Play (FFP)”.

He continued: "Major changes have been introduced across Europe regarding FFP regulations, including UEFA's new financial sustainability rules, the full impact of which will be felt from the 2025-26 season.

“They are based on three pillars: solvency, stability and cost containment, and clubs will have three seasons to adapt to them. Many expect these new rules to be a game-changer for the sport. Even stricter regulations may follow."

Spurs, who were unlucky to see the pandemic assert its grip so soon after the opening of their new stadium, have a substantial amount of debt to manage. Levy noted that more than 90% of the £852.6m borrowings were fixed rate, with an average interest rate of 2.81%, and the average term of the borrowings was 20.4 years.

During the year the club said it had agreed a capital increase commitment of up to £150m with its majority shareholder, ENIC, through the issue of A shares convertible. £100 million was subscribed during the year.

After the end of the year, the club said, these were converted into ordinary permanent share capital. This increased ENIC's stake from 85.56% to 86.58%.

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