Fulham Finances and what would it take to make Fulham self-sustaining?

[ImperialWhite]

TV money interests me.  On the one hand, Sky could easily lower their offer next time the contract's up, as they seem to have lost that non-UK broadcast in the UK case (Portsmouth landlady) so their package isn't as strong as they thought when they bought it.  This would screw the clubs, but of course it's in Sky's interests to keep the quality of the league high (if they pull the money away the good players will leave, the league won't be so enticing to advertisers, fewer subscriptions, and so on), so we might be alright on that one.   But maybe not.  If Sky doesn't rely on the football (and I have no idea whether it does) then we might one day have an ITV digital situation on a much bigger scale.   At which points all the clubs who have overreached are instantly fecked.

And may God have mercy, that would mean Arsenal winning the title every season for about the next 15 years!

[finnster01]

TV money interests me.  On the one hand, Sky could easily lower their offer next time the contract's up, as they seem to have lost that non-UK broadcast in the UK case (Portsmouth landlady) so their package isn't as strong as they thought when they bought it.  This would screw the clubs, but of course it's in Sky's interests to keep the quality of the league high (if they pull the money away the good players will leave, the league won't be so enticing to advertisers, fewer subscriptions, and so on), so we might be alright on that one.   But maybe not.  If Sky doesn't rely on the football (and I have no idea whether it does) then we might one day have an ITV digital situation on a much bigger scale.   At which points all the clubs who have overreached are instantly fecked.

Also known as the bubble crisis. Whether it is housing or tech crisis, the bubble burst. Statistically at some point the football bubble will burst too.

[BalDrick]

How much does the club get for just being in the Prem?

Think that depends on where we finish, but even Wigan (assuming they keep 20th place) will get a whack. This is why there's - sadly - no such thing as meaningless games towards the end of the season in which to let some younger players show what they've got. Think every position is worth half a million, though stand to be corrected. Something like that anyway.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

TV money interests me.  On the one hand, Sky could easily lower their offer next time the contract's up, as they seem to have lost that non-UK broadcast in the UK case (Portsmouth landlady) so their package isn't as strong as they thought when they bought it.  This would screw the clubs, but of course it's in Sky's interests to keep the quality of the league high (if they pull the money away the good players will leave, the league won't be so enticing to advertisers, fewer subscriptions, and so on), so we might be alright on that one.   But maybe not.  If Sky doesn't rely on the football (and I have no idea whether it does) then we might one day have an ITV digital situation on a much bigger scale.   At which points all the clubs who have overreached are instantly fecked.

Sky has built its entire service around the ability to show lots of sporting content. Without the premier league rights in 1992, I doubt we see Sky being anywhere near as successful - other than sport, Sky struggle to compete in terms of entertainment content because people can be entertained elsewhere, Sky's effective monopoly on football means that if you live in the UK, you cannot see it anywhere else (legally) if you cannot get to the ground. Sky may not pay much more but I doubt they would risk their business model by trying to save some money in the short term. Imagine if ESPN (backed by Disney's money) gazumped Sky for the football rights, I think sky would start to struggle a lot more - for one Sky Sports news would have nothing to report!

[ImperialWhite]

How much does the club get for just being in the Prem?

Think that depends on where we finish, but even Wigan (assuming they keep 20th place) will get a whack. This is why there's - sadly - no such thing as meaningless games towards the end of the season in which to let some younger players show what they've got. Think every position is worth half a million, though stand to be corrected. Something like that anyway.

800k a place!  :58:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1274698/Premier-League-prize-money-800k-place-Manchester-United-Chelsea-dwarf-rest-50m-cash-jackpot.html

[zzamora]

Not as bad as first thought?

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/March/FinancialStatement.aspx

Following the release of Fulham Football Club Leisure Limited accounts for year ending June 2010, the Club is delighted to be able to confirm the following highlights for the year:

2010 boasted a record income for the Club of £77.1m, up 21 % from 2009, making it 30th highest in European football as per the recently published Deloitte report.

Operating Profit (before player trading*) was £6.4m driven by our UEFA Europa League and FA Cup campaigns.

Our staff costs increased from £46.2m to £49.3m (6.7%), partly as a result of bonuses paid for successful performances in both the FA Cup and the Europa League. When reflected as a proportion of turnover our staff costs dropped from 69% to 64%.
In his summary the Chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed, stated he was very pleased with the performance of the business and again expressed the importance of the long term goal of self-sustainability, whilst committing to the continued growth and development of the Club both on and off the pitch.

*player trading in 2010 relates primarily to the write down of player valuations in the Club's accounts.



Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/March/FinancialStatement.aspx#ixzz1GgtwT9DB

[AlFayedsChequebook]

The thing that suprised me was that we were 30th in revenue in Europe - that is a pretty outstanding achievement for a club the size of Fulham.

Obviously this was down to our Europa league run, but still impressive thinking about where we were only 15 years ago

[RidgeRider]

This thread is being merged along with another into one finances thread.

[ImperialWhite]

Sorry to derail the thread a little, but could be tasty up at Molineux in April:

http://www.molineuxmix.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?t=58495

Who's a $$$$ing disgrace to the Premier League now?!

[Burt]

Is it just me or is anyone else out there worried about "Life After Mo"?

[RidgeRider]

Is it just me or is anyone else out there worried about "Life After Mo"?

I am......at the end of the day that was the point of my original comment. He is our 'sugar Daddy'.

[RidgeRider]

I have seen this somewhere before but does anyone know what is the reasonably current valuation of Fulham Football Club?

How did Mo pay for FFC?

Thanks.

[Fletchino]

So how much does the club owe MAF and did we pay any back this year?

[TonyGilroy]

It's a mistake to think of MAF and the club as seperate entities.

He's not an investor - he's the owner- and he's been that for long enough for us to know that he cares about the club and has it's best interests at heart. He's amply proved that.

One day he'll sell and our problem then will be the new owner but until that day we're fine so long as MAF's finances are OK.

[b+w geezer]

I have seen this somewhere before but does anyone know what is the reasonably current valuation of Fulham Football Club?

Value will be whatever anyone will actually pay for it, which will depend on two main things, surely. 1) As an ongoing operation, how's it doing on average? Is it highly cash positive or negative or broadly neutral by multi-millionaire standards? Taking recent years, the answer to that is broadly neutral.

2) Can a sum be agreed with MAF in return for writing off the club's debts to him? A discount would surely be arrived at on the theoretical value of those debts. How deep a discount is impossible to guess, as it would so greatly depend on the circumstances of the two parties at the time of transaction and how strictly financially minded they felt about things. Over his time here to far, finance has been far from MAF's priority. The new buyer might also be fairly relaxed about these things, within limits, and that's indeed the most likely candidate for a purchaser. If you just wanted to invest for profit, you'd not choose a football club.

The theoretical asset values which need to be written into accounts would probably be of least interest, since players don't last long and the book valuations of the training ground and Craven Cottage are only relevant if they are available for sale.

[White Noise]

Interesting to re-read this thread in the light of the planned expansion. Maybe self sustainability is not that far away after all?