Villa deficit trebles to £81 million

ASTON Villa’s losses more than trebled to a huge £81 million – and that was before they were relegated from the top flight.

A brief statement from the football club, issued ahead of its full accounts for 2015/16, revealed that its operating loss before interest and tax rose to £81.3 million. That was up from £26.6 million the previous year.

The latest accounts cover the 12 months to May 31, 2016, which was the season Villa were relegated from the Premier League. During 2015/16, the club suffered losses of £79.6m due to “exceptional items”.

Little explanation is given as to what these are, other than to say that they are “for the impairment of tangible fixed assets and intangible assets”.

More information is likely to be included in the full annual report, which should be available via Companies House in the next few days. During the 2015/16 period, turnover at Villa fell year-on-year by £6.9 million to £108.8 million.

The club’s statement said the drop in revenue could be attributed to a reduction in their share of revenue from the FA Premier League’s broadcasting agreements.

Villa hung on to their top flight status, finishing in 17th place in 2014/15 but ended up bottom of the table a year later, being relegated to the second-tier Championship.

The results include no impact from the takeover of the club by Tony Xia because this was not completed until June 14, 2016.