Financial results - year end 30 June, 2021

Financial highlights

• Match receipts of £1.9m (2020: £94.5m) due to games played behind closed doors.
• UEFA prize money was £23.6m (2020: £51.2m) reflecting the difference between competing in the UEFA Europa League compared to the UEFA Champions League.
• TV and media revenues were £184.4m (2020: £95.2m) as a result of the prior season being suspended and completed in the current financial year.
• Commercial revenue from sponsorship grew during the year but was negatively impacted by the loss of third-party events such as NFL, concerts and tours.
• Profit from operations, excluding football trading and before depreciation and exceptional items, was £97.1m (2020: £115.3m).
• Last two financial years significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in pre-tax losses of nearly £150m for the two-year period.
• Refinancing of short-term debt - Government CCFF (£175m) and BAML (£50m) both refinanced through a bond issue.
• Net debt of £706m (2020: £605m) with average interest rate of 2.7% and repayment terms extended to 2051, extending the average term of debt to over 22 years.
• As with past years, no dividend has been paid with all operating profits being reinvested in the Club.

Chairman’s Statement

The financial results published for our year ended 30 June, 2021, reflect the challenging period of the pandemic and the incredibly damaging timing of COVID-19 coinciding, as it did, with the opening of our stadium in April, 2019. With no less than three lockdowns our operations were severely disrupted, albeit this was secondary to the impact everyone felt in their personal and family lives.

Many of our staff continued to work through all the lockdowns to keep the stadium open for local food distribution, NHS vaccination and ante-natal clinics, along with certain key club operations. We are extremely grateful to them.

We report our results at a time when we are delighted our fans can return to the stadium to cheer on the players. I want to give special thanks for their continued support throughout this extremely difficult period.

We look forward to the Government’s fan-led review and to delivering enhanced supporter engagement and consultation.

I also want to take this opportunity to particularly acknowledge our two main commercial partners, AIA and Nike. They have been with us on our journey and have shown total support and loyalty. I have said it before and I repeat it now - we could not have reached this stage and delivered our stadium without their long-term commitment.

I should like to welcome cinch, our new Official Sleeve Partner and Getir, our new Official Training Wear Partner and to thank all our incredibly supportive partners. Commercial partnerships such as these play a significant part in our ability to grow our Club.

All of this, together, kept us going and as a result we have emerged from the pandemic financially stable. Global uncertainties remain and the Club is not alone in facing significant cost pressures resulting from the impact of the pandemic on supply chain constraints and consequences of Brexit.

Resilience is, however, a hallmark of everyone at the Club.

Foundations in place

Before looking ahead, I wanted to reflect on our journey to date. Since ENIC became the majority shareholder in 2001 we have had a clear three-step strategy. Firstly, we worked to improve football performance and, whilst no one club has a right to a smooth, continuous, upward trajectory, we have seen the club rise from middle to bottom-of-the-table finishes to being in European competition in 15 out of the last 16 seasons.

Secondly, we built a state-of-the-art training centre to attract, train and retain the best talent, both for the Academy and the First Team. We have gone on to do far more than that with the delivery of our award-winning player accommodation, ‘The Lodge’, which has been instrumental in providing exceptional rest and recovery facilities for players and, during COVID-19 times, provided an ideal isolation facility for the early return of players to the squad.

Thirdly, we set out to deliver an increased capacity stadium that would not only generate greater matchday revenues, but also the opportunity for more fans to attend games. Our Club could not remain competitive with one of the smallest stadiums in the Premier League.

Since opening, our stadium has been recognised with 18 awards including the prestigious RIBA London and National awards. We are delighted to have been selected to pilot safe standing in January, 2022, and be able to offer our fans the choice. This is something for which the Club has lobbied for some time and for which we future-proofed the stadium seating design to accommodate.

Having delivered our training centre, The Lodge and stadium we shall not stand still, we shall continue to innovate and ensure the most exceptional player, fan and visitor experiences.

Our building blocks for the future success of the Club are now firmly in place.

Our Club strategy

Going forward, therefore, our strategy is clear - to drive and generate revenues to invest in all of our football activities.

Football success, in turn, supports the growth of our Club, our fanbase and consequently wider, commercial opportunities and partnerships, which then deliver further revenue to reinvest in football - the virtuous, sustainable circle on which our Club model is based.

We shall develop new and diverse revenue streams to increase recurring revenues. Third party events such as conferencing, NFL, concerts, boxing and rugby are all examples of this. Our stadium is a key component to our revenue growth yet, unbelievably, we have still not seen and enjoyed a full season in our new stadium with attendances.

We shall continue to invest in our senior management and our staff to deliver this and look to decrease our reliance on football revenues alone, such that we protect our Club’s long-term sustainability.

We welcomed Todd Kline in March of this year, as our new Chief Commercial Officer. Todd, who joins us from the William Morris Endeavour agency and the NFL franchise Miami Dolphins, is focussed on securing additional partnerships and strategic commercial opportunities across the Club.

This was a position held by a much-missed colleague, Simon Bamber, who sadly and suddenly passed away this year. He will always be in our thoughts, as a colleague, a fan and a wise counsel to us all.

We shall also undertake supporting property projects. The development of the hotel, for example, on the stadium campus, will support our Conference and Events business and generate not only additional revenues, but also training and jobs in the local community.

It has always been the case that, whilst football is at our core, we find ourselves in an area of such need, we must ensure that our activities benefit the widest possible community and improve the surrounding environs for all who live, study, work in or visit the area.

Beating heart of North Tottenham - LDN17

We have grown organically in a self-sustaining manner. Every penny we make is re-invested in the Club. This means that every fan who has ever engaged with and supported the Club, by going to games or wearing our colours, has, in some way, contributed to the Club we are today. They have all played a part in our growth, in the development of the building blocks for our future success, in providing opportunities and inclusivity for our communities.

We fundamentally believe we have a key role to play in the transformation of our neighbourhood. You will have seen new schools, plans for homes, shops and businesses around the stadium. It has always been our ambition to see the new stadium kick-start wider regeneration and attract increased spend in the local economy. We are passionate about revitalising our neighbourhood and raising the aspirations of those who live here. We all rise when we lift others.

We have also worked hard to include environmentally sustainable options in our operations. This has seen us recognised as the greenest Club in the Premier League and host the first Net Zero game. Like many organisations we still have so much more to do.

I was proud to see the Club recognised with the award of the Advanced Level Premier League Equality Standard. Our audited accounts confirm that we pay all permanent staff and casual workers the London Living Wage (LLW) and require third-party suppliers to be equally committed to paying LLW.

Our activities reflect the responsible and respectful nature of our Club.

What we are doing in LDN17 will be a legacy for us all.

On the Pitch

It is far from ideal to make changes to coaching staff, however, we have acted swiftly and decisively when we felt it necessary, always looking to act in the best interests of the Club.

We extend a warm welcome to Fabio Paratici, Managing Director, Football, and our new Head Coach, Antonio Conte, along with his coaching staff. We are also delighted to see Ryan Mason join this group.

The appointments of Fabio and Antonio are a clear demonstration of our intent and ambition.

Since opening the stadium in April, 2019, we have spent almost £400m on players. Player spending is no guarantee of success, and our focus must be on improved recruitment, coaching, fitness and a competitive mindset.

Fabio continued the rebuild in the summer, resulting in the average age of our new summer signings being 22 years compared to the average age of 31 years for the outgoing players. We shall also look to continue the well-established path for youngsters from our Academy to our First Team. I know that Antonio’s approach is if a player is good enough, he will play, regardless of status or age.

I should like to take this opportunity to formally congratulate our Women’s First Team Head Coach, Rehanne Skinner, on a successful first year at the Club. Under the tutelage of Rehanne and her coaching staff, the team has had a positive start to what is only their third FA Women’s Super League (WSL) season.

The Women’s First Team has seen a rapid rise from being semi-professional less than five years ago to finishing second in the FA Women’s Championship and earning promotion to the WSL in 2019.

The north London derby against Arsenal, held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November, 2019, set a new all-time attendance record for the WSL of 38,262 which remains in place.

We are currently undertaking the construction of exclusive facilities for the Women’s First Team at the training centre, alongside a dedicated match quality training pitch, where the Women’s First Team now train full-time.

Looking ahead

Sustainability is a key word in football. We have seen how fragile the finances of a football club can be and the impact of losses on the stability of the football pyramid. As custodians we have to protect the Club for future generations of fans.

We have come a long way and we have so much further to go. We remain relentlessly ambitious and are determined to deliver honours and make our supporters proud.

Five-year review - please click on the link below (pdf) for a five-year review table...