Aston Villa have released details on the club’s End of Year Accounts, while also revealing details on plans for the expansion of Villa Park.
With the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic in mind, the club’s expectations and reality were undoubtedly altered by the economic impact that it would have had.
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Nevertheless, based on the figures provided, it seems as though Villa have emerged from it relatively well, with turnover increasing and pre-tax losses going down, while there was additional funds injected into the club by owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
As per the club’s statement, turnover grew to £183.6m from £122.6m the previous year, while those aforementioned pre-tax losses fell to £37.3m from £99.5m, a 62.5 per cent reduction.
While the statement goes on to also discuss investment in the squad which totalled over £100m for the financial year, the owners provided further funding in the form of £97m of new shareholder equity.
One of the other major talking points from the statement comes in relation to Villa Park, as the club have outlined their plans to increase the capacity of the stadium to in excess of 50,000 in the first phase of redevelopment, and they will look to lodge planning application in the summer of this year.
It’s added that the increased capacity will come through a rebuild of the North Stand as well as upgrading and expanding hospitality facilities. Further, the club are looking to create a new venue for retail and merchandising activities as well as increasing the entertainment provided too.
It’s hoped that progress is made in the coming months on those fronts, while it certainly seems as though the financial status of Villa is in a positive place.
Time will tell if success on the pitch matches that off it, but ultimately this sounds promising and it will undoubtedly be an exciting part of the development of the club under this ownership to see work being completed on Villa Park in the near future.
