Tottenham scores off the field

Soccer club Tottenhams financial position belied its current poor performance in the Premier League as the group reported a 39% increase in turnover for the year to 30 June.

Morningstar.co.uk Editors 17 October, 2007 | 4:13PM
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The football club’s strong financial performance was largely as a result of last year’s success on the pitch. The group reached the quarter-finals of the Uefa cup and was fifth in the league.

Turnover rose to £103.1m from £74.1m over the same period in the previous year. Pre-tax profits rose to £27.7m from £600,000. The group will pay a dividend of 4p per share.

The results reflected a full year contribution from the team’s two main commercial partners: Mansion (for shirts) and Puma (technical sponsor). It also reflected higher TV revenues buoyed by the UEFA cup matches and an increase in live Premier League games.

The Premier League has expanded the global audience of UK football to around 3 billion people and the clubs have all benefited from greater exposure. Chairman Daniel Levy said the group has seen its fan base increase substantially. It now has 4.3m fans worldwide, including 1.4m in the UK.

The group also announced the departure of vice chairman Paul Kemsley. Kemsley had been implicated in the move to bring Seville coach Juande Ramos to White Hart Lane, but has ostensibly left to devote more time to his property business interests in the US.

The club has submitted a planning application to Enfield council for a football training centre. Levy said that the club recognised the need for a larger capacity stadium and was currently investigating alternative sites in the local area. The team has played at White Hart Lane for 108 years and may yet remain there if it finds a way to expand the existing ground.

The share price jumped 2.5p to 138p on the results. While they are undoubtedly strong, future results are still related to success on the pitch, which helps maintain the fan base and TV revenues. The team is currently languishing in 17th place in the Premiership, just above the relegation zone. It has made it through to the next round of the UEFA cup, but there has been intense pressure on coach Martin Jol to resign.

Football clubs have generally been terrible investments. Tottenham is one of the few exceptions and has seen its share price rise steadily since the start of 2003. The management has been shrewd in turning success on the pitch to ready cash but fans are notoriously fickle and it may struggle to continue its achievements if the team’s performance does not improve.

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