Bristol City report ‘extremely serious losses’ for 2020/21 financial year

Bristol City have released their accounts for the financial year ending May 31st 2021.

The Robins announced a pre-tax loss of £38.4 million, citing the effects of the Covid pandemic as a particular reason for that figure.

A statement from the club also suggested that a “significantly impacted transfer market” was partially to blame for the increased loss in revenue.

How do the figures break down?

City’s pre-tax loss of £38.4 million is a marked increase on their pre-tax loss of £10.1 million for the 2019/20 financial year.

As detailed by the club’s official statement on the matter, the decision to play the 2020/21 Championship campaign in response to the Covid pandemic saw ticketing revenue reduce by £4.1m on the previous year.

Similarly, the knock-on effects of pandemic in the transfer market led to profit from the sale of players going down by £19.4m.

Lockdown measures also affected non-match day revenue at Ashton Gate, including the stadium’s conference and events programme. Revenue from non-match day events, commercial sales and retail income was reduced by £7m.

What have Bristol City said about their accounts?

As part of the club’s official statement on the matter, City’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Gould said: “The financial impact of Covid has resulted in extremely serious losses for the last year.

“Operating without crowds for a whole season has not only had a huge negative effect on revenue but has also resulted in crashing the transfer market and player trading, upon which we have been heavily reliant.

“We remain ever thankful for the support of the Lansdown family, particularly as we feel the financial effects of Covid.

“We are obviously very conscious of the impact this loss will have on compliance with the EFL’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules and we continue to work through this, including the dispensation for losses occurred as a result of Covid.”