Liverpool Football Club reports record annual revenues of £614m but lack of Champions League football contributes to widening pre-tax losses of £57m. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool FC saw its annual pre-tax losses widen to £57m despite seeing revenues hit a record £614m.
In its financial results for the 12 months to May 31, 2024, the Premier League Club saw margins squeezed by the first team’s failure to qualify for the lucrative Champions League. Instead they played in the Europa League which offered less money.
These latest results, published by the club on Friday, also reveal a £38m fall in media revenues to £204m, a £22m rise in matchday revenues to £102m, commercial revenues up £36m to £308m and administrative costs also rising by £38m to £600m.
The loss in media revenue due to no Champions League was partially offset by increased Premier League media revenue as a result of stronger on-pitch performance in the 2023-24 season.
During the reporting period the new Anfield Road Stand opened in this reporting period and a higher number of competitive games played at Anfield contributed to the £22m increase in LFC matchday revenue.
Commercial revenues were boosted by four new global partners signed during this period – UPS, Google Pixel, Peloton and Orion Innovation – with Kodansha and Carlsberg extending their existing partnerships.
Retail recorded record revenues across its seven global locations, which included a new store opening in Dublin. E-commerce also saw significant growth with more than one million downloads of the official LFC Store app.
LFC’s Membership scheme grew to more than 250,000 supporters during last season, which is a club record from the previous season.
Records were also broken across the club’s digital infrastructure, with LFC becoming the most-engaged Premier League club, generating 1.5bn social media fan engagements.
Despite the increase in revenues, administrative costs increased significantly to £600 million, which is mainly related to salaries and overhead costs across the club, which supported the increase in commercial revenues and the increased number of matchdays.
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On the pitch, the men’s team added four new players during this period – Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch – and 11 contracts were extended, including Kostas Tsimikas, Conor Bradley and Ben Doak.
For the women’s team, seven new players signed – Natasha Flint, Jenna Clark, Mia Enderby, Teagan Micah, Grace Fisk, Marie Höbinger and Sophie Roman Haug – and five contracts were extended, including Niamh Fahey, Yana Daniels and Ceri Holland.
LFC Foundation also reported significant results during this period on its impact on the community. It supported more than 127,000 people, contributed more than £13m of added benefit into the Liverpool city region.
Jenny Beacham, LFC’s chief financial officer, said: “Operating a financially sustainable club continues to be our priority and, with the continued increase in costs, it’s essential to grow income streams year on year to maintain financial stability.
“The success of our commercial operations, together with the opening of the new Anfield Road Stand, has increased our revenues during this reporting period, which demonstrates our desire to continue to compete at the highest levels of football in the men’s and women’s games.
“The global appeal of this football club continues to be phenomenal and is the underlying strength and opportunity we have for continued growth. We also take our social responsibilities seriously, using our global appeal to increase our community impact and sustainability efforts, in which we are leading the way across the football industry.”