City lost £28.5m in financial year 21/22

BRISTOL City have announced a pre-tax loss of £28.5million for the 2021/22 financial year – which is £10m better than last year, but still a worryingly high figure.

The losses, for the year ending May 31, 2022, reflect the return to normality following the Covid-19 pandemic. City’s turnover was £29.6m in the latest financial year compared to £16.6m the year prior.

Ticketing revenue, which increased by £4.5m due to the return of supporters in stadiums, played a significant contribution to the reduced figure, while player wages also fell by £5m. City spent £26.9m on salaries compared to £31.5m in 2020/21.

The hangover from Covid in the transfer market is still having a major impact on player sales with a profit on ‘disposal of players’ contracts’ standing at £1.2m – down from £6.2m in 2020/21 and £25.6m in the year prior to that.

City’s revenue grew by £13m down to the increase in matchday revenue, season ticket revenue and the sale of goods.

Overall, it means that City were still losing more than a staggering £500,000-a-week on average.

CEO Richard Gould said: “An improvement of £9.9m on the prior season loss is a step in the right direction. However, while we are pleased with the resilience shown in bouncing back from the Covid-19 pandemic, recording a large loss again this year shows that there is a lot of work left to do.

“We benefitted from supporters being able to return to Ashton Gate, from both a financial and an atmospheric viewpoint, and we are forever grateful for their