Note: this piece originally appeared as a thread on X.com, published on 23 March 2024. It has been reproduced here for posterity and is not intended to be read as a separate and/or different article to the original thread.
Alongside yesterday's investment announcement, Ipswich Town 2022/23 promotion season financials are out Club lost £18.2m, by far largest deficit in EFL League One #ITFC figs 🔵Revenue £21.8m (⬆️51%) 🔵Wages £19.8m (⬆️21%) 🔵Player wages £12.7m (⬆️28%) 🔵Wages to rev 91% (⬇️23%)
Ipswich Town's pre-tax loss of £18.2m was the worst financial result in EFL League One by some distance, with their deficit almost £8m higher than Derby County £10.6m All 11 clubs to disclose 22/23 financials have posted a loss Divisional loss to date: £54.7m
In fact, #ITFC £18.2m loss last season is worst pre-tax result in English third tier history, and previous season's £12.6m deficit was fourth-largest ever List of 'top' 20 losses populated almost entirely by clubs who'd fallen from heights of EPL at some point in recent history
#ITFC £18.2m loss up £5.6m (44%) on previous season. Increased deficit driven not by wages - comfortably outstripped by income rise - but by £8.3m (83%) uplift in non-staff costs Driven by inflation but also increased activity as new ownership looked to build club operations up
#ITFC have lost money in nine of last 10 years, w/ losses noticeably increasing since change of ownership in 2021. Of course, that's also brought about a team fighting for successive promotions, and new owners have invested in wider club too Net pre-tax loss in last decade: £62m
#ITFC's rise enabled via April 2021 takeover by Gamechanger 20 Ltd, of which Ohio-based real estate fund Org Az Secondary Opportunity Fund, L.P. is major shareholder #ITFC received £29.5m owner funding in 22/23 and further £15m since Total since takeover: £63.7m (all equity)
#ITFC one of small band of English clubs who publish player wage figs. #ITFC spent £12.7m on playing wages in 2022/23 (up 28% on 21/22 £9.9m), meaning playing costs were only 58% of income £7.1m non-playing wages reflects size of club operations - similar level to #SAFC in L1
#ITFC £19.8m operating loss was worst result in EFL League One last season, well ahead of Derby County £12.2m No clubs (to date) made an operating profit, reflecting how even in league w/(soft) salary cap, income earned by and distributed to clubs is insufficient to cover costs
#ITFC turnover rose 51% to £21.8m, an impressive rise given they'd not changed division from a year prior. 2022/23 was the first time the club has cleared £20m in revenue since its EPL days in the early 2000s, when income peaked at £37.4m in their 2001/02 relegation season
#ITFC had the highest revenue in EFL League One last season, with only themselves and #DCFC topping £20m, although #SWFC weren't too far behind Sizeable gulf between those three and the rest of the division
In fact, #ITFC £21.8m turnover last season made them only the fourth club - after Sunderland, Leeds United and Derby County - to top £20m in income in the third tier without the aid of parachute payments #ITFC 2022/23 revenue was eighth-highest in third division history
All three revenue streams grew for #ITFC in 2022/23, but biggest driver of growth was £4.2m (74%) increase in commercial income Club's reliance on broadcast income has steadily fallen during time in third tier (Covid-impacted 2020/21 excluded), as other areas have seen growth
#ITFC matchday up 40% to £8.0m. Not only the highest for the club in a decade, but also a club record, eclipsing £7.8m generated in 2001/02 EPL season Came despite price freeze on season tickets, as club sold 5,000 more of those than 21/22 and avg attendance was 6.5k higher
#ITFC gate receipts were second-highest in EFL League One in 2022/23, only behind Derby County £8.3m (#DCFC average attendance was 1k higher) Big gulf between clubs historically in the top two divisions and the rest
#ITFC £8.0m matchday income was the ninth-highest in English third tier history General price inflation means it's expected that more recent results are more likely to appear at the top of the list, but does also reflect size of Ipswich's fan base
Matchday income comprised 37% of #ITFC income, reflective of the uptick in commercial and the much smaller broadcast income clubs in the third tier receive
On that topic, broadcast income rose to £3.9m,
#ITFC broadcast income was highest in EFL League One last season, just slightly ahead of Derby County £3.8m Not a lot between L1 clubs, whos receive c. £0.7m EPL solidarity and c. £1m from EFL TV pool. #ITFC also benefit from Cat 2 academy grant which falls under this stream
Biggest improvement in #ITFC revenue came in commercial, up to £9.9m and again eclipsing 2001/02 £9.5m. Merchandise income roughly doubled from £2.3m to £4.5m, as club strips sold well - including a third kit designed by Ed Sheeran
#ITFC £9.9m commercial income was the highest in EFL League One last season, over £1m ahead of next-placed Sheffield Wednesday. In fact, club's commercial income in 2022/23 was high than eight of 14 EFL Championship clubs to publish results to date
As a result, #ITFC commercial income comprised 45% of total income, higher than all EFL League One clubs bar Forest Green Rovers Throughout football, clubs are recognising the need to improve commercial income streams, and #ITFC's growth here bodes well for the future
#ITFC wage bill was already high by EFL League One standards, and it increased again as the club were promoted, up £3.4m (21%) to £19.8m. This was the highest wage bill for the club in 20 years, notable given club spent bulk of that period in the division above
Correspondingly, #ITFC wage bill was largest in EFL League One last season, nearly £3m ahead of Derby County Ipswich went up, so will see it as money well spent, but fact Plymouth Argyle beat them to title w/ wage bill over £10m smaller underlines strength of #PAFC achievement
#ITFC £19.8m wage bill is the second-highest in English third tier history, only trailing Sunderland's huge £26.7m from 2018/19 Latter figure still included some hangovers from #SAFC's EPL stint, so 'real' gap between the two probably a bit smaller
Despite that big wage bill, #ITFC wages to revenue fell 23% to 91%, the first time it has been below 100% since 2015 Uplift in come (51%) outstripped increased staff costs (21%). Still perilously high by measure of most businesses - less so English football clubs
#ITFC 91% wages to revenue is second-highest of nine EFL League One clubs to disclose such figures for 2022/23 (note: not all L1 clubs publish these figs) Metric much lower in L1 than Championship due to soft salary cap of 60% of income - owner inputs allow clubs to go higher
#ITFC racked up a whopping 98 points in 2022/23, one of the most successful third tier seasons ever (and it's a sign of how good Plymouth Argyle were they finished top) #ITFC had hugely underachieved in L1 comparative to their wage bill up to last season
#ITFC one of small band of English clubs who publish player wage figs. #ITFC spent £12.7m on playing wages in 2022/23 (up 28% on 21/22 £9.9m), meaning playing costs were only 58% of income £7.1m non-playing wages reflects size of club operations - similar level to #SAFC in L1
Biggest driver of #ITFC increased pre-tax loss was a big increase in other expenses (i.e. non-staff costs), which rose over 80% to £18.3m Few specifics here, but reflects high-inflation environment as well as owners building up operations across the club
#ITFC non-staff costs of £18.3m were by far highest in EFL League One in 2022/23, well ahead of Derby County £12.4m, another club w/ big stadium (relative to the rest of the division) to attend to and operate Some of this will form part of £3.2m #ITFC spent on youth development
#ITFC amortisation of player transfer fees was up 131% to £3.0m, the highest figure for the club since 2012, reflecting investment in the playing squad Once again, Ipswich well out in front of the rest of the division here
Combining wages and player amortisation costs and setting them against revenue gives a ratio of 105% - in effect, #ITFC spent more than their entire income on the playing squad before considering any other costs. Even so, that was one of the lower figures for club in recent times
#ITFC 105% wages and amortisation to revenue was actually lower than #BarnsleyFC 111%, but very much at the top end of EFL League One Most clubs in third tier spend minimally on transfer fees, if at all, so this metric often pretty close to more widely used wages to revenue %
#ITFC haven't made much from player sales recently, exceptions being £12.2m in 2015 (sales of Tyrone Mings, Aaron Cresswell) and £7.7m in 2019 (Martyn Waghorn, Adam Webster) £2.3m in 2022/23 almost entirely from Flynn Downes sell-on clause following move from Swansea to West Ham
#ITFC £2.3m player sale profits was one of the higher figures in EFL League One, as clubs generally don't make much from player sales on a regular basis and are much more likely to book 'spiky' profits on the occasional sale of star players
#ITFC spent £8.0m on new players in the year to June 2023, a huge figure for the third tier and over half of the previous nine years combined (£14.1m) Should be noted only £6.5m of this related to signings for League One, as est. £1.5m on Jack Taylor came following promotion
#ITFC £8.0m spend on new players was biggest in EFL League One in 2022/23 by a huge margin, and remains so even if we strip out the Taylor signing and reduce the figure to £6.5m Fees went on likes of Marcus Harness, Leif Davis, Nathan Broadhead and Harry Clarke, among others
#ITFC £8.0m spend is highest ever in English third tier and remains so at £6.5m figure. Second-placed #SAFC £5.3m also included signings made post-promotion, so 2019 £4.8m spend (mostly Will Gregg) a more accurate comparison #ITFC £11.4m spent in first two years of new ownership
After eight consecutive years of a negative net spend on transfer fees, 2022/23 was second year running #ITFC spent more on players than they brought in, with £5.6m net spend Net transfer income in last decade: £19.4m
As a result of that spending, #ITFC squad cost (gross transfer cost of current squad) at end of June 2023 was biggest in EFL League One and over three times higher than second-placed Barnsley £4.8m Low figures elsewhere reflect how little L1 clubs generally spend on fees
Of course, by the end of June 2023 #ITFC were a Championship club, so worth comparing their squad cost with second tier clubs 10 clubs still to announce financials, but #ITFC recent spending has them in the top 10 - even ahead of Luton Town, who had just been promoted to the EPL
#ITFC spent £849k on agent fees in 2022/23, their highest figure since the FA started publishing such figures in 2016 Second-highest in EFL League One, behind Derby County £1.1m, a division where most clubs spend minimally on intermediaries
Scarce detail from most EFL League One clubs on transfer debts, but we can be confident #ITFC £5.0m owed to other clubs was highest in the division, reflecting the manner in which clubs structure and stagger transfer payments nowadays
#ITFC gross financial debt pretty much disappeared following club takeover in April 2021, as former majority shareholder Marcus Evans wrote off nearly all of £105m debt owed Clubs £9.7m debt is primarily preference shares and dividends payable on said shares. No external debt
Based on latest available figs, #ITFC £9.7m debt is pretty middling, and a long way behind debt at fellow promotion side Sheffield Wednesday Is at the low end of EFL Championship clubs
#ITFC £0.6m interest payable in income statement nearly all related to dividends on preference shares, which roll up at 7% per annum. These were accrued costs rather than cash payments. Cash interest paid was just £38k #ITFC have been funded entirely by equity since takeover
Equity funding model employed since Gamechanger 20 Ltd took over in April 2021 is evident from #ITFC cashflow Across last five years, club lost £37.6m from operations and spent £10.3m on infrastructure. Funded by £48.7m in shares from Gamechanger, plus £1.7m net transfer income
Indeed, while #ITFC new ownership's spending on the playing squad has caught attention, Gamechanger have also invested heavily in club infrastructure, pouring in nearly £10m in the last two years alone Reflects desire to grow club from within as well as providing big funding
#ITFC £7.3m capex was most in third tier, as owners invested in club infrastructure after years of minimal spend there (not uncommon for non-EPL clubs) Such expenditure set to continue, with club now due to undertake "significant redevelopment" of Playford Road training ground
Gamechanger poured further £29.5m - all as shares - into #ITFC in year to June 2023, covering both the pre-tax loss and those capital costs Further £15.0m was injected between 1 July 2023 and 29 February 2024, taking total investment from owners to £63.7m in under three years
#ITFC owner funding of £29.5m in 2022/23 was huge by EFL League One standards, but not actually the highest in the division that year. That came instead at Derby County £36.5m, where new owner was required to spend heavily following club's exit from administration
On face of it, #ITFC racking up £30m+ losses from two seasons in third tier is shocking. But look below surface and new ownership are carrying out a clear plan both on and off-field - and transparent disclosure of club's FFP compliance is a welcome rarity:
If promotion not achieved in next year or two #ITFC will have to rein in spending unless able to increase sales. Club acknowledge losses will increase "in absence of any player trading" But equity funding model minimises club risk, and recent investment reflects a club on the up
