MORECAMBE FOOTBALL CLUB

The Club has recently (Thursday 22 February 2024) filed its financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2023 at Companies House.

The report outlines the Club’s financial position as of 31 May 2023 and covers the 22/23 season in Sky Bet League One.

You can also view the submitted report, in full, by clicking here. 

The 22/23 financial year presented challenges across the Club. The Club achieved a pre-tax loss of £1.270M (21/22 - £1.273M profit), which is a £2.543M reduction. Whilst a big swing, there are positive shoots of growth amongst commercial areas, which are being continued into 23/24. Included within the loss is £72K worth of interest accrued on loans provided by the Club’s majority shareholder.   

During the year, funded in part by mortgage, the Club increased its asset base and acquired land to the south-west of the stadium. The land can potentially be developed in future which could allow for diversification of our revenue streams.

Revenue 

Income for the year was £5.279M, £1.607M lower than the prior year (£6.886M). Whilst many of our commercial areas grew, the Club was significantly impacted in 3 key areas: 

• Grants/insurance claims (£967K reduction). This included a one-off Premier League grant of £500K received in 21/22. 
• Player sales income & Manager compensations (Contract Disposals) (£697K reduction). 
• Cup revenue (£410K reduction). Despite a strong run in the EFL Cup (Third-Round), the Club was knocked out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle. During the previous year, the Club enjoyed £483K revenue across the three cup competitions including a £178K receipt from Tottenham Hotspur for our Third-Round tie.

As touched on earlier, various commercial areas of the business enjoyed growth on the previous year; 

• Events/Hospitality grew by 29% increasing revenue to £1.082M. This includes matchday food & beverage, hospitality sales, and non-matchday events.  
• Season ticket income grew from £319K during 21/22 to £332K 22/23. Match ticket income also enjoyed growth from £433K to £455K. Our average home attendance grew to 4,572 from 4,310 in 21/22.  
• Retail revenue increased from £150K 21/22 to £167K 22/23. The retail store has almost trebled its revenues from the 18/19 season, before the Club partnered with Terrace. The partnership with Terrace has significantly improved in store and online operations along with an excellent range of new product lines.

The Club also held outdoor stadium concerts successfully for the first time ever, diversifying income streams and offering an excellent community event. It is hoped that this will be repeated in future years.  

Despite the challenges faced during the year, we feel it is important to add context beyond the previous 2 years. Previously, the record turnover for the Club was in 18/19 when revenue was £2,82M. 

Costs 

As is the case for the majority of Clubs, the rapidly increasing level of finance that is required to compete in the EFL, mixed with the cost-of-living crisis has impacted the costs incurred by the Club across a number of areas. We increased player costs by £155K in summer 2022 to try to give ourselves the best chance possible of competing on the pitch in League One. 

Utilities nearly trebled from the previous year, totalling 3% of our cost base as outlined below. The Club invested in renovations on the pitches in the summer which increased costs in this area, as well as capital investment in the infrastructure. This enabled a better surface to be produced, leading to increased usage, at both the Stadium and Training Ground. 

Whilst an increase in direct costs is indicative of growth in commercial revenues, we are experiencing increasing unit costs which has impacted our margins in 22/23 and continues to do so in 23/24. There are significant increases in our day-to-day operating costs, along with the national minimum wage increases affecting our large pool of casual colleagues (covering our hospitality, non-matchday teams and matchday security team).  

The 22/23 season was also the first full season unaffected by COVID-19, so with the greater number of non-matchday events that took place, greater costs were incurred.

Balance Sheet 

Due to the operating losses and subsequent cash required to operate the Club, the balance sheet shows loans procured by the majority shareholder in the year, along with a mortgage on the land the Club acquired to the southwest of the stadium totalling £1.01M. 

Share purchases totalling £432,921 were also realised in the 22/23 year.

Fan Engagement  

A key part of the Club strategy to grow its fanbase and revenues is through improved fan engagement. This was a crucial element of the three year plan set out in 2021. Two metrics that are widely used by Clubs to measure their level of fan engagement are the Fan Engagement Index and EFL Family Excellence rating. Results over the period of the plan are below; 

We are pleased with the progress made on this front to date and continue to strive to improve on this each year. 

Current Year Developments 

Despite relegation to League Two, and subsequent significant fall in central funding from the EFL & PL, and impact that relegation can have on matchday income, the Club has managed to reduce its costs and maintain a strong revenue, well in excess of previous seasons in League Two. The Club wishes to remain competitive in League Two, and following a commitment from the ownership in summer 2023 to fund a significant loss again in the 23/24 year, we are forecasting to reduce the losses from FY23 to the region of £500K. This will include our cup run income, player sales income along with manager compensation once again. 

This also includes a player wage budget, that despite being one of, if not the, smallest in the division, is still 50% higher than our last season in League Two, such is the pace at which finances in football are spiralling.  

With a new Sky TV deal increasing funding into the Club from the summer, along with the ongoing development of young players with potential value upon sale, and the possibility of a ‘new deal’ for football on the horizon, despite ongoing challenges, the Club is working as best as it possibly can towards a more secure financial footing so long as the short-term funding requirements are met.