Sheffield Wednesday accounts paint uncertain future for the club

Wednesday were supposed to submit their accounts at the end of July 2019, however there were some difficulties with regards to which year the £60m sale of Hillsborough would fall into.

Now though, after Dejphon Chansiri reiterated recently that the accounts were soon to be submitted, the club has made them public.

With the sale of Hillsborough included they made an operating profit of £19,193,000, but it’s the words – rather than the numbers – that have raised eyebrows for many.

Section 1.3 of the accounts reads, “The Company's business activities together with factors likely to affect its future development, performance and position are set out in the Directors report.

“In considering the appropriateness of the going concern basis for the preparation of the financial statements, the director has considered the working capital requirements of the Company for the short, medium and longer term taking account of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as described in note 26. In doing so, the director has determined that additional funding will be required to enable the Company to continue in operational existence. The owner has confirmed that sufficient financial support will be made available to enable the Company to meet its obligations as they fall due for a period of not less than 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements. The director acknowledges that this support is not legally binding and is dependent on the availability of funding from the owner. Therefore, a material uncertainty exists which may cast doubt over the company's ability to continue as a going concern and, therefore it may be unable to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business.

“Nevertheless, after making enquiries and considering the funding requirements of the Company, the director is confident that funding will be made available and has a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly he continues to adopt the going concern basis in the preparation of the financial statements.”

They went on to say, “We draw attention to note 1.3 in the financial statements, which indicates that additional funding will be required to enable the company to continue in operational existence. The owner has confirmed that sufficient financial support will be made available to enable the company to meet its obligations as they fall due for a period of not less than 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements.

“As stated in note 1.3, the director acknowledges that this support is not legally binding, and these conditions, along with other matters as set forth in note 1.3, indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern. In addition we draw attention to the matters set out in note 26 in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic including the fact that football matches, after resumption, continue to be played behind closed doors and the uncertainties in timescale arising from the pandemic. Our opinion is not modified in respect of these matters.”