Newcastle United released their accounts for the year ending June 2025 earlier this week.
Newcastle United’s 2024/25 financial accounts highlighted a major deal agreed by the club just days before the June 30 deadline.
The Magpies posted a club record revenue of £335.3million for the year ended June 30, 2025, which included a 44% growth in commercial revenue to £123million, boosted by the partnership with Adidas.
But one big talking point to come from the accounts was the sale and leaseback of St James’ Park and the adjacent land next to the stadium to PZ Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary company controlled by PIF and RB Sports & Media.
The sale saw the club record a pre-tax profit of £34.7million though without the sale last June, a record loss of £98.4million would have been posted.
It raised big questions regarding the motivation behind the deal and whether it was necessary for the club to comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
NUFC chief explains St James’ Park sale
But Newcastle’s chief financial officer, Simon Capper, defended the decision and explained the club’s motivations.
“The motivation was very much to reorganise our property assets and get them into the correct legal boxes to allow us to go forward with our potential development, either at St James’ Park or for a new stadium, and to facilitate that with financing and other similar items,” he said.
“There may be more similar transactions to come in the future, depending on what we end up doing, but the profit calculation that had to be done is then a consequence of the detail of the accounting rules that the Premier League require us to follow in doing any transaction with a company that is associated with us. So it does create a very significant accounting profit because of that.”
The club would not confirm nor deny whether they would have been compliant with PSR without the sale. However, football finance expert, Kieran Maguire, with Newcastle’s financial data at hand, claimed that the club saved itself from a PSR breach with a significant late deal for the second season running.
Newcastle United publish 24/25 accounts, when Club won Carabao Cup. 🔑figures
⚽️Total revenue £335m (record) ⬆️5%
⚽️ Commercial revenue £123m (record, adidas deal etc) ⬆️42%
⚽️ Broadcast revenue £161m ⬇️12% (no CL)
⚽️ Wages £243m ⬆️11%
⚽️Average weekly wage £103k
⚽️ Wages/revenue… pic.twitter.com/LqGrPXPmVL
— Kieran Maguire (@KieranMaguire) March 31, 2026
On X, Maguire described the sale as ‘perfectly legal and allowed for PSR, before adding: “Newcastle would have failed PSR had it not been for the stadium sale to themselves.”
Another PSR escape
The stadium sale came almost exactly a year after Newcastle scrambled to comply with PSR, with the last-minute sales of Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton & Hove Albion for a combined fee of £68million to avoid a points deduction. Anderson and Minteh have since enjoyed successful spells since leaving Newcastle and have seen their values increase.
Newcastle’s justification for not making the stadium sale a year earlier to comply with PSR was down to the fact that there was ‘no business reason’ to do so and would have left them facing UEFA punishment, regardless as such deals are not included in UEFA’s calculations.
And it is those UEFA 70% squad cost ratio rules the club are looking to comply with moving forward now that PSR is being removed for the 2026/27 season.
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