West Bromwich Albion Football Club has submitted to Companies House its annual report and financial statements for the 12-month period ended 30 June 2022, which reflects the 2021/22 EFL Championship season.
The club recorded a profit before tax of £5.4m (2021: £0.1m) for the period ended 30 June 2022.
Turnover decreased from £106.9m in the 11-month period ended 30 June 2021 to £65.4m, owing to a reduction in Premier League distributions and sponsorship income following relegation.
The fees paid for the purchase of player registrations during this period is £12.6m (2021: £30.5m), while the sale of player registrations returned £17.8m (2021: £9.7m).
Staff costs decreased from £76.9m to £42.4m, with the reduction predominantly driven by the contractual salary decrease for players and staff following relegation to the Championship.
An outstanding loan of £4,950,000, owed during the accounting period by Wisdom Smart Corporation Limited, has been impaired in the accounts at Group level by auditors, and West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited – a wholly owned subsidiary of Yunyi Guokai (Shanghai) Sports Development Limited – has since committed to guarantee repayment of the loan and accrued interest.
The ultimate controlling shareholder and Chairman Guochuan Lai has repeated his assurance to the club that the loan and accrued interest will be repaid.
Following the reporting period, in December 2022, West Bromwich Albion Group Limited secured a £20m loan facility from MSD UK Holdings Limited which has been fully drawn down to Football Club.