Sheffield United Accounts: £8k a day interest, £1.5m to United World and £40m loans

Sheffield United’s accounts for the financial year ending June 30, 2022 were released yesterday, with some fans flocking to Companies House to digest the details. The headline figure was a £15m loss - albeit one offset in the accounts by increases in the value of land and property owned by the club - and the huge effect that relegation had on the club’s finances, with the true impact of two seasons Championship football expected in the next set of accounts when they land next summer.

But the 2021-22 period still offered an intriguing look at United’s finances, over a period when the club paid over £3million in interest payments - the equivalent of £8,500 a day - and just over £2.6m in interest on United’s loans alone. United have over £40m of bank loans in the accounts, and also lent just over £6m from their United World holding company during the period in question - albeit with no interest payable, unless in the event United default on repayment.

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The accounts revealed United paid just over £1.5m to the United World network in “consultancy fees”, which are explained as “covering certain costs including staff related costs”. United also had just over £15m of potential payments due if certain conditions were satisfied. It is understood that promotion to the Premier League will have triggered some of those payments - but that the outlay will be covered by the Premier League millions.

The books also suggest that United owed almost £27m in outstanding transfer payments - up from £18.25m in the previous accounts - with £16.75m owed from other clubs. The next set of accounts are expected to paint a much bleaker picture, with no significant player sales and a further drop in income all pointing towards a greater loss - and once again highlighting the importance of United’s promotion to the Premier League, to their overall financial health.

United’s financial picture would have been much worse but for the sale of Aaron Ramsdale to Arsenal, even with the cushion of parachute payments, with Championship clubs routinely posting losses because of the disparity in income between the EFL and Premier League.

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A strategic report signed by director Abdullah Alghamdi reads: “The club’s long-term goal is to be a sustainable club, successful both on and off the pitch. This will be achieved by embracing a business model that focuses on investment in our playing squad, development of our elite academy players, cultivating our global brand, by driving and diversifying revenue streams and by identifying and nurturing talent across all areas of the business.

“The restructure of on-field operations to encourage the development of young players in to the first team is demonstrating success, generating greater value in our registrations, and has created a development pathway for our academy operations.”

Unlike the previous accounting period, when the highest-paid director received £122,666 after United posted a £9.6m profit, no directors received a salary in the 2021-22 accounts.

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