REASONS to be cheerful can come in all shapes and sizes but Everton have managed to find a smile or two since the club was taken over in 2024. The club was taken over in December 2024 by the Friedkin Group, who paid £ 400 million for Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1% stake.
Since the end of 2024, they have improved on the pitch and have rehired one of their favourites sons as manager in David Moyes and they have, in some ways, produced a set of financials that show that a corner is in sight. Their new stadium is almost ready and looks stunning – the dark clouds are lifting and by the time they say farewell to Goodison Park, optimism will have undoubtedly returned.
Everton won’t be revelling in the fact that their main achievement is reducing their now customary annual loss to £ 53 million, but in 2020, the deficit was a very worrying £ 140 million and in 2023, it was a life-threatening £ 89 million. In seven seasons, they have run-up losses of £ 565 million.
The club’s revenues were up by 9% to £ 187 million, just below the record £ 193 million of 2021 and above the 10-year average. Matchday income totalled £ 19 million, a figure that should rise significantly when the club moves to Bramley-Moore, even though 2023-24 was the best season in a decade. Goodison, for all its charm, has been a restrictive stadium in modern times and has a capacity of just 39,000. The last time Everton averaged over 40,000 was almost 50 years ago and they have seen their neighbours really leverage their bigger capacity and success on the field to generate over £ 100 million from this revenue stream. Similarly, the club’s commercial activities are trailing many Premier clubs. They earned £ 39 million, which is low by top tier standards and a fraction of the income of Liverpool, City and United and the big London clubs. Again, with the two-mile move across town and a bigger audience, Everton will be better equipped to make far more money from sponsorship, events and merchandise.
2ST7FBB Fans arrive at Everton’s new stadium in Bramley-Moore Dock before an Everton under-18 friendly match test event. Picture date: Monday February 17, 2025. " data-medium-file="https://gameofthepeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2st7fbb.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://gameofthepeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2st7fbb.jpg?w=863" width="863" height="551" src="https://gameofthepeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2st7fbb.jpg?w=863" alt class="wp-image-22045">
Broadcasting accounts for 69% of total revenues but given much of this depends on where Everton find themselves in the final league table (not to mention any European involvement), the £ 129 million received in 2023-24 can be improved upon.
So, too, can the profit made on player sales. Everton have average £ 37 million per season from player trading which is well below clubs like Brighton, Nottingham Forest and West Ham, let alone “big six” members Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham. Their biggest sales in 2023-24 were Moise Kean to Juventus for
£ 31 million and Alex Iwobi to Fulham for £ 22 million. Everton spent £ 54.8 million in the market and received £ 147.8 million from sales. The squad’s book value is around £ 120 million but from Transfermarkt’s perspective, the market value is € 365 million. Amortisation fell from £ 77.6 million in 2022-23 to £ 64.6 million.
The wage bill continued to fall, albeit marginally to £ 157 million and the wage-to-income ratio was eight percentage points lower at 84% which is still sub-optimal.
Net debt totalled £ 567 million with the club’s cash reserves increasing to £ 26 million. Shareholder loans amounted to £ 450.75 million. The loans are interest free and are to be repaid at a mutually acceptable date to Bluesky Capital and Everton Football Club.
Many people believe that the club is at the end of one era and the beginning of another. The turbulent Moshiri years are over and with new ownership and a brilliant new home, the club can move forward with no small amount of confidence. The curtain goes up at Bramley-Moore dock at the start of 2025-26.