www.pwc.co.uk/scotland Calm before the storm Scottish Premier League Football 23nd annual financial review of Scottish Premier League football season 2010-11 Contents Introduction 3 Profit and loss 6 Balance sheet 18 Cashflow 24 Appendix one 2010/11 the season that was 39 Appendix two What the directors thought 41 Appendix three Significant transfer activity 2010/11 42 Introduction Welcome to the 23rd annual PwC financial review of the Scottish Premier League (SPL). This year’s report includes our usual in-depth analysis of the 2010/11 season using the clubs’ audited accounts. However, we acknowledge that given the dominance of Rangers1 demise over recent months, these figures may be looked at with a new perspective. Nevertheless, it is important to analyse how the SPL performed in season 2010/11 with Rangers and explore the potential impact the loss of the club will have on the league. Red spells danger? Notwithstanding the storm engulfing The impact the wider economy has had The Scottish game has never been Rangers, the outlook for season on football – as well as other sports - under more intense financial pressure. 2010/11 was one of extreme caution. shouldn’t be ignored. The continuing This analysis reinforces the need for squeeze on fans’ disposable incomes member clubs to continue seeking out Amidst fears of a double dip recession has meant that additional spending on effective strategies in order to operate within the wider economy, SPL clubs areas outside of the traditional season on a more sustainable financial footing, continued to further reduce their cost ticket package – from additional including cutting costs in the absence bases, particularly around securing domestic cup games to merchandise – of new revenue streams. But the SPL more sustainable wage bills. Despite has diminished, while discretional also must do its utmost to avoid a race this tactic, the SPL still slipped into the spending by corporates on hospitality to the bottom: less investment in red, yielding a collective loss of £2.5m packages has also been affected. players reducing the quality and – a significant difference from the standard, which could in effect drive previous season’s £2.1m profit. Underlying loss? more fans away in terms of attendances While this strategy may prove to be a and merchandising spend, while On the face of it the £2.5m collective little unpalatable with supporters due broadcasters could be less willing to bottom line loss does not appear too to a perceived lack of quality of player invest at the same levels due to disastrous. However, the season’s on the pitch, in hindsight it has proved to reduced interest and exposure. results were skewed by various be the correct one. A SPL without Rangers may simply exceptional items such as Hearts’ accelerate this. As a result, it is crucial The total SPL wage costs fell below £8.8m forgiveness of debt from related that the SPL clubs identify new revenue the £100m mark for the first time since parties, and Aberdeen’s revaluation of streams or other ways to raise new 2005/06 and at £99m represented Pittodrie which further buoyed the finance – without this the future a £4m (3%) reduction from the SPL’s bottom line by £0.6m. Stripping financial road will be rocky. previous season. However, these cost out these one-off events reveals an savings were eclipsed by a greater underlying loss of £11.9m. reduction in revenues (4%) – mainly This operational loss figure is arrived at driven by falling attendance levels after taking into account £15m of and merchandise spend as more fans revenues and £8m of operational profits continued to stay at home. This is as a result of Rangers appearance in the significant as season 2010/11 group phase of the UEFA Champions witnessed the single greatest fall in League, and as we have seen in attendances since the inauguration previous seasons, such progress in of the SPL and saw the league post Europe is by no means guaranteed for an operational loss of £0.5m, the future. whereas season 2009/10 saw a £6.1m operating profit. 1 The financial information presented for The Rangers Football Club PLC has been extracted from the draft unaudited report and accounts for the year to 30 June 2011 issued by the Company to PLUS SX on 30 November 2011. Season 2010-11 3 Falling attendances SPL clubs can no longer match the As discussed in our 22nd review, transfer fees or the wages to lure the although SPL fans may find this Increasing unemployment, diminished top talent to Scotland, nor can they strategy hard to stomach, the reality of disposable income and reduced remain competitive on the global stage. the current situation is that no SPL side corporate hospitality budgets continue However this is perhaps not so much of is in a position to spend outside its to impact match day attendances. a failure of the member clubs but more means and fans of the member clubs Unlike the big five European leagues, to do with the sucess and exponential must begrudgingly accept their clubs income from turnstiles represents the growth of the English Premier League adopting this cost control strategy. main revenue source for SPL sides and (EPL) being fuelled by money-spinning it would appear that the fan base is broadcasting deals. What is certain is TV rights continuing to shrink. Our 22nd Review that this gap between the two leagues Although season 2010/11 was the highlighted season 2009/10 as will continue to grow with the SPL second season incorporating the £65m witnessing the single biggest drop in falling further behind following the five-year Sky/ESPN deal some of the attendances since the SPL’s disappearance of Rangers. However clubs were still recovering from the inauguration and we have not noted should fans continue to vote with their disappointment of the once expected any signs of recovery, with attendances feet, this problem is only going to revenues from the £125m four-year dropping a further 1%. In total, a intensify. Setanta deal, primarily due to the further 16,000 fewer fans attended broadcaster’s collapse immediately SPL matches during season 2010/11. Player trading prior to the start of 2009/10. Moreover, Moreover, an SPL without Rangers in The SPL’s bottom line was substantially this led the SPL into accepting a deal in the coming seasons may exacerbate boosted by profits from player-trading a market with few offers. However, on a this further, as the Ibrox faithful as the very best talent continued to be more positive note, the SPL board used represented over one third of those cherry picked with the Old Firm yet their option to terminate the deal attending SPL matches. again proving not to be exempt from during season 2011/12 to good effect, their adherence to this model. The The largest falls in total attendances leveraging from the on and off field £9.5m sale of McGeady to Spartak were evident at Aberdeen (for the drama of season 2010/11 where Moscow made him the most expensive second successive season) and Rangers, average live programme audiences for player to be sold from a Scottish club with 25,308 and 42,921 respectively Sky Sports and ESPN increased 28% to (surpassing recent exports of Craig fewer fans attending. Three quarters of 162,122 and successfully renegotiated Gordon and Alan Hutton – both £9m) the SPL stadia were less than 60% the deal to £80m over five seasons. and helped the league post an overall utilised during the season and there is a gain from the sale of players of £19m At the time the deal was agreed it concern that attendances will continue (2010: £11m). It is vital that SPL clubs provided the league with not only the to fall in the immediate future. Since continue investing in youth teams and immediate boost of £3m per season in the start of the 12 team league, training facilities to nurture quality revenues, but also longer term security. collective attendances have declined home grown players who can later However in light of Rangers’ liquidation 14% from 3,644,742 in 2001/02 to be sold to clubs in more affluent this security did not transpire and the 3,118,451 in 2010/11 with the main leagues particularly in the aftermath present deal has been renegotiated due two contributors being the Old Firm. of the EPL’s recently agreed £3bn to the absence of the league’s signature Over the same period attendance levels broadcasting contract. This appears Old Firm fixtures in season 2012/13. at Celtic have declined 16% from to be one option for clubs hoping to We will of course fully analyse the 1,111,723 to 930,392, while Rangers post profits in the future however impact of this with great interest in our fell 5% from 909,711 to 860,795. others may need to rely on this stream 24th report as the League seeks to Unsurprisingly, these reductions simply to survive in their current state. maximise its earnings potential. correlate with reductions in the transfer market expenditure and large losses. 4 PwC annual financial review of Scottish Football Rangers FC no more immeasurable at this point in time, we Clubs must work to also must recognise that the reduced This report has been written against number of travelling fans will also hit shrink their existing the backdrop of the most serious the local economies of the areas cost bases while financial issue ever to engulf Scottish surrounding the stadia. However, the football. While the dust has yet to fully negative impact of this should not be increasing their focus settle, at the time of writing it is clear viewed in isolation as Rangers fans will on youth development that the Ibrox club will not feature in continue to support their team and as the SPL for a minimum of three such, we anticipate that this will in order to successfully seasons from 2012/13.