English Premier League (EPL) soccer side Brighton & Hove Albion have posted their financial results for the 2022-23 season, revealing record turnover and profits.
In what was a season of unprecedented success on the pitch for Brighton, off the pitch, the top-tier club generated £204.5 million ($257.2 million) in revenue, a growth of 17% year-on-year (YoY) from the 2021-22 season, and post-tax profits soared by almost 500% YoY to £122.8 million, up from £24.1 million the year prior.
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The profit figure represents the most for an English top-flight soccer club ever and was driven by the success of Brighton's player trading model, which saw the club net a £121.4-million profit from the sale of players.
This player trading profit does not even include the high-profile sales of players Moises Caicedo and Robert Sanchez to Chelsea for a combined £125 million (potentially rising to £140 million), as both transfers occurred after the June 30, 2023, cut-off point for the accounts.
Caicedo’s fee alone may rise above the total profit made by the club on player trading in 2022-23, meaning that there is potential for an even greater profit in the club’s 2023-24 accounts.
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Alongside the announcement of the club’s financials for the year, Brighton revealed that its chief executive, Paul Barber, had extended his contract through 2030.
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By GlobalDataBarber stated of the financial results: “In a season when we made history on the pitch we took a huge step forward in terms of the club’s long-held aim of becoming more sustainable and less reliant on Tony Bloom’s incredibly generous levels of investment.”
Barber has served in the role since 2012 – the year after Brighton moved to their current home venue, the Amex Stadium – and has overseen a period of dramatic growth and success for the club, powered by the investment of owner Tony Bloom.
English entrepreneur (and supporter of Brighton) Bloom first provided the club with a first interest-free loan in 2007, and further interest-free investment since has taken the club’s loan balance from Bloom to £406.5 million.
With the major success of the team’s financial results in the 2022-23 season, Brighton announced that it has reduced the loan balance down to £373.3 million in a major repayment to Bloom – further proof of the club’s commitment to financial stability.
This commitment is in major contrast to the financial affairs of a number of Brighton’s Premier League rivals.
Everton, struggling heavyweights Chelsea, and high-flying Aston Villa, have all reported major losses for the 2022-23 season, with Villa in particular losing almost £120 million, nearly as much as Brighton gained in profit.
Everton and Nottingham Forest have already been charged with breaches of the league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) this season, and have suffered points deductions as punishment.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have suffered losses so severe in previous campaigns that they are likely to find it hard to avoid PSR-based punishment over the coming 12 months.
As such, Brighton’s profitability is a welcome change for a league whose teams are now being asked to be more financially responsible than they are perhaps used to.
