Tottenham Hotspur FC have announced pre-tax losses of 80.2 million pounds (107 million dollars) for the financial year ending June 2021.
The total debts also increased from 605 million pounds to 706 million pounds.
The club said the last two financial years had been “significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic” and have resulted in pre-tax losses of nearly 150 million pounds for the two-year period.
Chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement: “The financial results published for our year ended June 30, reflect the challenging period of the pandemic.
“With no less than three lockdowns our operations were severely disrupted, albeit this was secondary to the impact everyone felt in their personal and family lives.”
Tottenham’s overall revenue was down to 361.9 million pounds from 402.4 million pounds.
In spite an increase in money generated from television and media up from 95.2 million pounds to 184.4 million pounds, profit from operations dropped to 97.1 million pounds from 115.3 million pounds.
Levy, however, said the club’s “building blocks for the future” were “firmly in place” following completion of their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a new training centre and new player accommodation, The Lodge.
“Having delivered our training centre, The Lodge and stadium we shall not stand still, we shall continue to innovate and ensure the most exceptional player, fan and visitor experiences,” Levy said.
“Going forward, therefore, our strategy is clear, to drive and generate revenues to invest in all of our football activities.”
Tottenham appointed Fabio Paratici as managing director of football in June and Antonio Conte was installed as their manager earlier this month following the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo.
Levy said: “The appointments of Paratici and Conte are a clear demonstration of our intent and ambition.
“Since opening the stadium in April 2019, we have spent almost 400 million pounds on players.
“Player spending is no guarantee of success, and our focus must be on improved recruitment, coaching, fitness and a competitive mindset.
“Fabio continued the rebuild in the summer, resulting in the average age of our new summer signings being 22 years compared to the average age of 31 years for the outgoing players.
“We shall also look to continue the well-established path for youngsters from our academy to our first team.
“I know that Conte’s approach is if a player is good enough, he will play, regardless of status or age.
“We have come a long way and we have so much further to go. We remain relentlessly ambitious and are determined to deliver honours and make our supporters proud.”
(NAN)
