Liverpool losses near 50 millions

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

English club Liverpool reports 49.4 million pounds of losses in the last year. REUTERS photo

Liverpool reported £49.4 million losses in the last financial year following pay-offs to staff and costs associated with the club’s failed new stadium plans, it was revealed yesterday.

Although new owners the Fenway Sports Group wiped out £200 million in debts when they took over in October 2010, the club was forced to write off £35 million over their moribund HKS-Stanley Park stadium project.

The sacking of manager Roy Hodgson after just six months, also contributed to a further £8.4 million in costs relating to contract terminations, figures lodged with Companies House showed.

Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre however insisted the club’s finances were in good shape, explaining that the results had been distorted by “extraordinary” expenditure.

“I guess people will focus on the loss of £49.4m and there’s no business - or people running any business - who are going to be pleased with any loss,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“But I think the important indicator here is this £59m charge for exceptional items and as a business that’s been in a transition, it’s about moving from where we were to where we want to be.

“We have written off a huge amount on the stadium project. A big chunk of that £50m loss relates to the HKS project - which is now defunct - and associated costs around that.” The figures do not include a record kit deal with American company Warrior Sports worth at least £25 million a year.

“If we had not written off these extraordinary costs, we would have been looking at breaking even,” Ayre said.

“We have reduced interest charges from £18m to about £3m. That puts us in a much stronger position to utilise our revenues more effectively on the team.”