Where Do We Go Now?
Brentford’s prospects looked rather bleak this summer, as their highly regarded head coach, Thomas Frank, had opted to move to Tottenham. The popular Dane was replaced by the inexperienced Keith Andrews, the club’s set piece coach, which came as a surprise to most observers
In addition, the Bees lost their two top scorers from the previous season, as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa were sold to Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively, while their captain Christian Nørgaard moved to Arsenal.
However, Brentford have confounded expectations, so they currently sit in a very impressive seventh place, once again demonstrating the club’s ability to punch above its weight.
Brentford now find themselves in an interesting position, as their financial resources are far behind the vast majority of their rivals in the top flight, so there is some pressure on their traditional sustainable model, if they wish to compete.
Let’s take a look at their latest accounts from the 2024/25 season to better understand the challenges facing Brentford, which will help explain some of the recent moves off the pitch.
2024/25 Season
These financial results covered a season where they finished tenth in the Premier League, thus securing their place in the top flight for the fifth consecutive year.
In addition, they reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, where they were eliminated by Newcastle United, but crashed out of the FA Cup in the third round after a home defeat by Plymouth Argyle.
League Position
This was the second time that the Bees had achieved a top ten finish since their promotion to England’s top flight, representing a strong recovery from the previous season’s 16th place finish.
Brentford have clearly come a long way, as they were playing in League Two as recently as 2008/09. Supported by their owner Matthew Benham, who fully bought the club in June 2012, in terms of both financial contributions and a smart, data-led recruitment policy, the club has made great progress on and off the pitch.
As chief executive Jon Varney put it, “This is an exciting time for Brentford. The club has enjoyed significant success in recent years.”
Profit/(Loss) 2024/25
However, the price of competing in the Premier League was highlighted by Brentford’s pre-tax loss almost tripling from £7.9m to £20.5m, despite revenue increasing by £6.6m (4%) from £166.5m to a new club record of £173.1m.
In addition, profit from player sales rose £2.0m (8%) from £25.2m to £27.2m, other operating income almost doubled from £5.4m to £10.2m and the club made £8.8m from a property deal.
This was more than offset by growth in the cost base, as operating expenses shot up £30.9m (15%) from £201.2m to £232.1m, while net interest payable doubled from £3.9m to £7.8m.
The loss after tax also widened from £7.5m to £17.7m.
The revenue growth was driven by a higher finishing position in the Premier League, which led to an increase in broadcasting of £12.0m (9%) from £127.5m to £139.5m.
Match day also rose £1.1m (9%) from £11.3m to £12.4m, but there was a dip in commercial income, which fell £6.5m (24%) from £27.7m to £21.2m (due to lower player loans).
Further “significant” investment in the playing squad drove increases in staff costs, as wages rose £16.4m (14%) from £114.4m to £130.8m and player amortisation shot up by a third (£12.2m) from £35.6m to £47.8m.
There was also steep growth in depreciation, up £2.7m (31%) from £8.7m to £11.4m, mainly due to more expenditure on the new stadium, but other expenses were flat at £42.1m.
Only four Premier League clubs have so far published accounts for 2024/25 – and they’ve all lost money. Brentford’s £21m loss was the second smallest, only bettered by Manchester City’s £10m deficit, while Manchester United and Brighton both had significantly higher losses with £40m and £56m respectively.