Leeds United Finances 2024/25

Although Leeds United are far from certain of staying up in the Premier League, they have done better than most observers would have predicted, given that all six of the promoted clubs in the previous two seasons have gone straight back down.

Leeds had secured promotion in 2024/25 in some style after winning the Championship with exactly 100 points under Daniel Farke, having scored an impressive 95 goals.

They had come close the previous season, when they finished third in the league, but they were then defeated 1-0 by Southampton in the play-offs.

Getting across the line means that Leeds have graced the stage in England’s top flight in four out of the last six seasons, including a praiseworthy ninth place finish in 2020/21.

This followed a decade in England’s second tier following the promotion from League One in 2009/10.

Leeds United are the only club in the United Kingdom’s third biggest metropolitan area, enjoying a strong fan base, so it probably should be in the top flight, especially given that it can leverage this “structural competitive advantage”.

Let’s take a look at these financial strengths, as well as some weaknesses, based on an analysis of the recently published 2024/25 accounts.

These accounts cover the second season under the ownership of 49ers Enterprises, who assumed full control of the club at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, after adding the 56% held by Andrea Radrizzani’s Aser Ventures to their previous 44% minority stake, with Paraag Marathe taking on the role of chairman.

In addition, there has been another interesting change in Leeds United’s shareholders, as Red Bull bought a minority stake in May 2024, which reportedly amounted to 10%.

Marathe said, “Red Bull’s addition is a historic milestone that will further empower the club to reach its full competitive potential.”

A couple of weeks ago, Greek philanthropist Andreas Dracopoulos joined the Board following a personal investment.

Despite the success on the pitch, Leeds United still posted a large loss of £49m, though this was an improvement on the previous season’s £61m deficit.

Revenue rose £9m (7%) from £128m to £137m, while operating expenses were only up £1m from £204m to £205m and net interest payable dropped by two-thirds from £18m to £6m. However, profit on player sales was £9m lower, falling from £34m to £25m.

The main driver of the revenue growth was commercial, which shot up £15m (34%) from £43m to £58m, an incredible figure for the Championship, while gate receipts were slightly higher, up £1m from £31m to £32m.

This was more than enough to offset the £7m (12%) reduction in broadcasting income, due to a smaller parachute payment in the second season after relegation from the Premier League.

The wage bill increased by £19m (22%) from £84m to £103m, almost entirely due to a promotion bonus, though player amortisation decreased £13m (22%) from £59m to £46m and player impairment fell £4.5m from £7.5m to £3.0m. Other expenses were flat at £48m.

All but three Championship clubs have now published accounts for 2024/25 with only three of them managing to generate a profit, namely Luton Town £17.9m, Sheffield United £2.6m and Plymouth Argyle £0.3m.

In other words, it is very much normal for clubs to lose money in this ultra-competitive division, but Leeds’ £49m loss was comfortably the worst last season, ahead of Cardiff City £35.1m, Coventry City £21.6m and Norwich City £20.7m.