Premier League Beats Out Bundesliga for Highest Revenue in 2012/13

June 5, 2014

The total European football market grew to a record £17.1billion for 2012/13, according to Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance.

The report showed showed that the Premier League remained on top, in terms of League income, generating £2.5b in 2012/13, the highest in Europe, with a 21% increase from the previous season. They were followed by Germany (£1.7 billion), Spain (£1.6 billion), Italy (£1.4 billion), and France (£1.1 billion)

In total, the revenue of the top 92 clubs in English football reached almost £3.2 billion.

Despite this, over 75% of the Premier League clubs’ revenue increase in 2012/13 was spent on wages, which rose by £125m (8%) to £1.8 billion and resulted in the overall Premier League clubs’ wages to revenue ratio reaching a record high of 71%.

With the high wage bill operating profit fell by £2m to £82m, an operating margin of just 3% of revenue. Bundesliga surpassed the Premier League in the profit column with operating profits of £226m.

Dan Jones, Partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, commented: “Once again the global appeal of the Premier League has continued to drive commercial revenue growth, particularly at the highest ranked Premier League clubs. Matchday revenue also increased by 6% with fewer unsold seats at Premier League games than ever before.”

Jones also noted that the Premier League clubs will receive another significant increase in revenue in 2013/14: “We estimate that Premier League clubs’ revenue will have increased by almost 30% to £3.2 billion in 2013/14. This growth will be driven by the revenue from the first season of the Premier League’s new broadcast deals and further commercial revenue growth at the biggest clubs.”

Adam Bull, Senior Consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, added that wage costs are forecast to increase again in 2013/14: “The pattern in spending on wages following previous increases in broadcast deals, suggests it’s likely around 60% or more of the revenue increase in 2013/14 will flow through to wages.

“On that basis, we would expect Premier League total wage costs to reach a new record level of around £2.2 billion. However, given the forecast increase in revenue, this would also return the wages to revenue ratio below 70% for the first time since 2009/10.

“The 2012/13 wages to revenue ratio for Championship clubs of 106% is the highest ever recorded by an English division and is clearly unsustainable without ongoing owner support. The introduction of the Championship Financial Fair Play Rules was widely seen, and advocated by the clubs who voted it in, as a necessary step to change clubs’ behaviour.

“The severity of the punishments applied to those who have not complied with the rules in the 2013/14 season and the eventual result of efforts to change the rules, will determine the extent to which they present an effective deterrent to widespread overspending.”

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