Leicester City’s Thai owners are investing in the future as they continue with their aspirations to challenge the big six English clubs.
New accounts show Leicester has ramped up investment in the squad, in its new £100-million plus training ground and in plans to expand the King Power Stadium from the current 32,000 capacity to more than 40,000.
The club turned over £178.4 million last season, up almost £20 million on the year before.
It made a pre-tax loss of £20 million for the year though – which compares to the £92.5 million profit it made two years earlier when reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League generated £70 million.
The 2018/19 season loss was put down to factors such as the £8.8 million it spent bringing Brendan Rodgers and his backroom staff to the club from Celtic and paying off outgoing manager Claude Puel.
Leicester also reported a £30.5 million increase in staff costs for the year – due to investment in the squad and management team.
On top of that, the club put more than £13 million into the cost of the new training ground at Seagrave, near Loughborough, during the period.
The vast majority of the overall investment – backed by a six-year loan from parent company King Power lnternational – will go onto the current season’s figures.
Most Read
The facility – designed and built by the same people who put up the new Spurs training ground – is expected to be ready for pre-season training in four months time.
Despite the losses, Business-Live has been told LCFC are not in danger of breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, designed to ensure clubs don’t overspend on players.
Since May, the club has invested a further £41 million in the new training ground at Seagrave, £2.6 million on preliminary plans to expand the King Power Stadium, and £1.2 million on new floodlights.
Should City – currently third in the league, five points clear of Chelsea – qualify to play in the Champions League next season, they will get at least £15 million, which could be up to £50 million if they were to make the quarter finals.
Revenues from reaching the Europa League would be a lot less.
The club saw a big rise in revenues from its sponsorship and other commercial income last season – areas which will play a key part in growing profits in the years to come. Those revenues grew from £14 million to £26 million.
Writing in the accounts, club chief executive Susan Whelan said the year was defined by challenging events, including the death of chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter crash next to the city stadium in October 2018.
Don’t miss
She said: “These events however have strengthened the deep commitment of the club, its directors and shareholders to honour the legacy of the late chairman by pushing forward the sustainable long-term development of the club.
“Investment continues both into the football squad and management team and into the off pitch infrastructure and management including the continuing construction of its new industry-leading training ground which is expected to complete summer 2020.”
Leicester City spent £1.1 million in the aftermath of the tragedy on things like crisis management, security and travel.
The accounts for the year to May 31, 2019, show the club spent £119 million on seven new players, including James Maddison, Ricardo Pereira and Çağlar Söyüncü.
The club put a market value of £481.6 million on the 56-strong squad - more than £130 million up on the previous year.
The 18/19 accounts show LCFC made a profit of more than £58 million on the sale of Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City and Ahmed Musa to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Harry Maguire’s sale to Manchester United for a reported £80 million in August will help the balance sheet for the current season.
The annual report for last year valued the existing Belvoir Road training ground, two miles south of the King Power Stadium, at £6.7 million. It is understood there are no imminent plans to sell the land.
Last season was the tenth under the ownership of the Srivaddhanaprabha family, Thai owners of the King Power group of companies.
Promotion to the Premier League in 2014 has seen turnover increase on average by almost 20 per cent each season – not including the extraordinary Champions League season.
Susan Whelan said: “Ten years on from King Power’s takeover in 2010, Leicester City finds itself in a position of strength from which we can all move securely forward with confidence and ambition.
“During that time, the club’s supporters have put their faith in King Power’s long-term investment strategy and we aim to continue rewarding that faith with progress, growth and success both on and off the pitch.
“We remain a club of fierce ambition: striving to progress every season; giving ourselves every opportunity to compete more consistently at the elite level of the game; giving amazing experiences to our fans in the stadium and around the world; and making our community proud of its football club.
“It’s the reason every penny of revenue generated during those 10 years under King Power’s ownership has been reinvested into the club.
“I’m excited to assure our supporters that, even with the considerable progress that has been made in the last 10 years, we’re very confident that the best is yet to come.”