Aston Villa Group End of Year Accounts for the year ended May 31st 2022 showed continued investment on and off the pitch as the club consolidated its position in the Premier League.
The club invested £203.5m in the acquisition of new players in the financial year, partly financed by the club record sale of Jack Grealish to Manchester City.
The Club’s long-term strategic plan continues to be developing, recruiting and securing talented young players on long-term contracts to build asset value in our playing squad and ensure long-term sustainability.
Wages costs stayed stable at £137m, youth development expenditure rose to £13.9m from £10.8m and the Club reported a £0.4m profit before taxation.
Capital investment on infrastructure continued apace, with £7.1m invested in tangible assets including our new satellite academy at Brookvale as the club continues to focus on developing local playing talent. The complex adjacent to Villa Park will open later this year and will provide elite facilities for boys and girls.
Plans to redevelop our iconic home which include building a new North Stand and expanding our hospitality, retail and entertainment facilities were formalised by a full multidisciplinary design and engineering team during the year and approved by Birmingham City Council in December 2022.
The scheme will also transform the area around the stadium and be a catalyst for change in the neighbourhood and we are delighted that Villa Park has been shortlisted as a stadium in the UK and Ireland’s Euro 2028 bid. The Club is working closely with external stakeholders at local, regional and national level to ensure the transport system surrounding Villa Park receives the necessary upgrades to cope with an increased capacity of more than 50,000 supporters.
A timetable for demolition and rebuilding work will be announced in the coming months following full consideration of all logistical and economic factors.
The first team finished 14th in the Premier League in the financial year, three places lower than the previous campaign. This was partly responsible for a reduction in turnover for the year - £178.4m, compared to £183.6m previously.
Exceptional administrative expenses included a payment of £10m to Randolph D Lerner following the retaining of Premier League status for the third consecutive season since promotion. This payment was due as per the agreement entered into when Recon Group Ltd bought the Club in 2016 and provided that if Recon Group and its Guarantor – Jian Tong Xia – failed to pay the sum, it would fall to the Club to settle the liability.
Our Women and Girls football department continues to go from strength to strength with the first team securing their top-flight status with a comfortable ninth-placed finish. Following successful recruitment in successive transfer windows during the financial year and post balance sheet, the team currently sits in fifth place in the current WSL table.
We remain fully focused on developing our own young players via our own successful girls Academy while putting Aston Villa at the heart of the women’s game at this exciting time for the sport.
The Aston Villa Foundation continued to grow and develop during 2021-22, supporting vulnerable people and under-served communities across Birmingham. It increased its range of projects, activities and events to support people of all ages across the wellbeing, education, skills, employment and community safety sectors.
During the year, the Foundation delivered up to 500 sessions a week - doubling the amount of projects and activities on offer from pre-pandemic levels. It also provided financial and capacity building support to a network of other community groups and charities across the city, helping to support and facilitate a thriving voluntary and community sector in the city of Birmingham.
Full audited accounts of NSWE UK Limited and NSWE Sports Limited for the year ended 31st May 2022 can be found at the following links:
