CLUB STATEMENT ON FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS

CLUB STATEMENT ON FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS

Annual financial statements filed at Companies House...

Leeds United Football Club and parent company Eleonora Sport Limited have today filed their financial statements for the period ended June 30 2015 at Companies House.

The financial statements show a significant improvement in the overall performance and financial stability of the business, achieved through the hard work of the staff over the last twelve months.

In order to help fans understand the information contained within the documents that have been filed, please find below the key points from these accounts:

Key points from the accounts:

- For the year ending June 30 2015, the total club turnover was £24.4m - down from £25.3m

- The club has continued to carefully manage its operating cost base effectively and continued the process of restructuring the business in order to help realise these savings.

- As a result of the work undertaken, the overall losses at the club have reduced significantly from £22.9m for the year ending 2014 to £2m for the year ending 2015. This represents a 91% reduction in overall losses.

- The position has been helped by an improvement in player trading and a significant reduction in the overall cost of sales at the club of £2.29m (-58%) on the previous year.

- Investment in the first-team playing squad totalled £6.1m during the year ending June 30 2015, compared to £2.3m during the year ending June 30 2014.

- Net assets at June 30 2015 were £1m, this compared to net liabilities of £13.5m as at June 30 2014. 

- During the year ending June 30 2015, Eleonora Sport converted £6.5m of debt into equity. Eleonora Sport injected further capital into the club through acquiring additional shares.

- The accounts show that Eleonora Immobiliare SpA, parent company of Eleonora Sport Limited, has injected capital totalling £42.96m into the Group.

- First-team playing squad and first-team coaching staff wages in the year were £17.4m, equating to 71% of total turnover.  

- Average age of players in the first-team squad during the 2014/15 season was 23 years old.

- Average home league attendance in the season was 24,278. This figure was down from 25,089 the previous season.  

- The club's Grass Roots ticket initiative, designed to encourage groups of young people to watch live football at Elland Road, continues to be popular with 8,571 people attending during the 2014/15 season.

Chairman Massimo Cellino said: "I would like to thank the senior management team and all of our employees for their hard work and effort during this difficult period to help achieve these improvements in the business performance of the club.

"The accounts illustrate the commitment that has been made to resolve the financial issues which have surrounded Leeds United Football Club. The club is now on a stable financial footing for the first time in many years.

"We are confident that we can continue to make further improvements in the years ahead. We hope that we can now finally begin to focus and invest the club's income, generated through our supporters and sponsors, into improving the quality of the playing squad and performances on the pitch.

"We would like to thank the supporters and our sponsors for their continued patience and support." 

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