The Jockey Club announce record revenues for seventh year running

April 21, 2016

The Jockey Club, owner of many of British horseracing’s assets and who will be represented at the iSportconnect Ticketing and Hospitality Masterclass on 19th May, have posted record annual turnover for the year 2015.

The club has also put more than £415 million back into Britain’s second-biggest spectator sport over the last 10 years through contributions to prize money and upgrading facilities for customers and participants, according to its annual results.

A commercially successful 2015 enabled The Jockey Club to deliver its prize money outlay and plough operating expenditure into enhancing a range of customer facilities during the year.

For the seventh consecutive year the Group posted record turnover, up by 7.1% on prior year to £183.3 million, which also out-paced its 2014’s turnover growth of 5.1%.

Attracting record crowds of nearly 2 million people to The Jockey Club’s 15 racecourses nationwide – up 8% from 1.79 million the previous year – helped it to deliver turnover growth at a rate more than three times that of the UK economy. Growth was also driven by record hospitality sales and generally strong performance from Jockey Club Catering at its racecourse venues, media incomes and a successful year for its Jockey Club Live joint venture

Operating profits grew to £21.9 million even with the decision to significantly increase its reinvestment in the sport (2014: £21.7 million). This was achieved despite staging 26 fewer fixtures on the all-weather than the previous year, increasing its contribution to prize money and enhancing facilities from operating expenditure. Without these factors, on an underlying basis Group operating profits increased by more than 10% year-on-year.

Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said: “Every penny we make at The Jockey Club we reinvest into British Racing, in line with our Royal Charter commitments to support the sport’s long-term health.”

“In 2015 more people than ever came racing with us, more horses than ever used our training facilities at Newmarket and Lambourn, The National Stud went from strength-to-strength and we were able to commit record sums to prize money, enhance facilities for customers and horsemen, and support initiatives to ensure our sport remains part of the fabric of British national life.”

“Significant progress was also made on several industry matters, including our sport’s new stakeholder structure, Government commitments over British Racing’s funding, an exciting new terrestrial broadcast deal from 2017 and a more efficient vehicle to provide media to betting shops from 2018, while The Jockey Club welcomed the support of new commercial partners and the sport as a whole reached more than 40% of the UK’s television viewing audience.”

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