Aston Villa finances: Relegation-threatened club reveal £27.3m loss as Randy Lerner and directors share £1.5m
Aston Villa’s miserable season took another turn for the worse after the Premier League’s basement club announced a £27.3m loss.
The Birmingham club – currently nine points from safety – are facing a financially devastating relegation to the Championship following a costly campaign last season.
In 2014-15 Villa generated £115.7m in revenue, down from £116.9m last year, while operating expenses jumped 17.3 per cent to £142.7m.
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Villa narrowly avoided relegation last season but were guided to the FA Cup final by Tim Sherwood, who replaced Paul Lambert as manager in February.
American owner Randy Lerner is currently looking to sell the club but in its accounts chief financial officer Robin Russell said “no active discussions were taking place” at the time of writing.
Villa’s four directors during the period took home £1.5m between them, while staff costs rose by nearly £15m to £83m.
The accounts do not include the £44m raised from selling stars Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph.
Russell writes that the club had mitigated against the risk of relegation this season by providing their managers with an “appropriate payroll and transfer budgets” yet Villa are now on the verge of dropping out of the top flight for the first time in 29 years and missing out on next season’s £8bn TV deal.