In The End
Newcastle United’s 2024/25 accounts cover a “memorable” season, when the club won their first major trophy for 70 years after defeating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
Less dramatically, but of more importance to their balance sheet, they qualified for the lucrative Champions League for the second time in three years after finishing fifth in the Premier League.
They also reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, where they lost to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Newcastle United Women finished fifth in their first season in the FA Women’s Championship, having only turned full-time professional in the summer of 2023.
Ownership
This was Newcastle’s third full set of accounts under the ownership of the consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) after Mike Ashley’s long reign came to an end.
In the period since that acquisition in October 2021, there has been much progress both on and off the pitch, as the club has benefited from significant investment from the new owners.
As a result, Newcastle have finished fourth, seventh and fifth in the last three seasons, which represents a marked improvement on the latter years of the Ashley era.
Amanda Staveley stepped down from the board in July 2024, which led to PIF increasing its stake to 85%, while Jamie Reuben’s RB Sports & Media Ltd now has 15%. PIF said that this development was “part of the long-term plan to develop the club and make it a consistently credible competitor in domestic and European competitions”.
Profit/(Loss) 2024/25
Newcastle reported a £35m pre-tax profit, compared to an £11m loss the previous year, though this owed a great deal to a £133m gain on exceptional asset sales to other group companies, primarily their famous St James’ Park stadium. If these were excluded, the club would have posted a substantial £98m loss.
Revenue rose £15m (5%) from £320m to a club record £335m, though this was more than offset by a steep increase in operating expenses, which shot up £56m (14%) from £389m to £445m.
In addition, profit on player sales dropped £50m (72%) from £70m to £20m, though net interest payable fell £3m (28%) from £12m to £9m.
Despite the absence of UEFA TV money, Newcastle managed to grow their revenue, very largely due to growth in commercial, which increased bx £37m (42%) from £86m to £123m. In addition, match day rose £1.5m (3%) from £50.1m to £51.6m.
This compensated for the fall in broadcasting income, which was down £23m (12%) from £184m to £161m, as they played in the Champions League the previous season.
However, the cost base once again significantly grew, as the new owners continued to invest in the squad and club infrastructure, as Newcastle strived to challenge at the top of the table, as well as compensating for the many years of austerity under Ashley.
Wages rose £24m (11%) from £219m to £243m, while player amortisation slightly increased £3m (3%) from £97m to £100m. In addition, other expenses shot up £25m (38%) from £68m to £93m, while depreciation was up by two-thirds from £5m to £8m.
On paper, Newcastle had the highest pre-tax profit in the Premier League last season with £35m, ahead of Aston Villa £17m, but both clubs were significantly boosted by asset sales.