Chelsea record £128.4m profit after selling women’s team

Financial results for Chelsea for the year ending June 2024 show a pre-tax profit of £128.4 million.

The amount was better than the Premier League team’s pre-tax losses of £90.1 million in the first full year under the ownership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium.

Chelsea’s overall revenue dropped from £512.5 million in 2023 to £468.5 million, which the team ascribed to their men’s team not playing in the Champions League.

The club attributed the profit to the “repositioning” of their wildly successful women’s squad and the “disposal of player registrations” totaling £152.5 million.

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In May 2024, Chelsea revealed a reorganization and long-term strategy for the women’s squad, which included selling the team to become a separate entity from the men’s team while still being a part of the club owners’ larger holdings.

According to Chelsea’s financial year data, matchday revenue climbed from £76.5 million to £80.1 million.

Additionally, “an increase in player loan income and strong sales of non-matchday activities” contributed to the rise in commercial revenue from £210.1 million in 2023 to £225.3 million.

Chelsea avoided violating the Premier League’s profit and sustainability guidelines (PSR) by improving their financial health, according to their statement released on Monday.

The sale of two hotels by Chelsea FC Holdings Ltd. to BlueCo 22 Properties Ltd., a transaction involving businesses controlled by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, improved the position in the prior financial results.

Chelsea’s 2022–2023 financial statements showed a loss of £89.9 million rather than £166.4 million as a result of that £76.5 million transaction.

Given that the 2024 deal was for either all or a portion of the £198.7 million “profit on disposal of subsidiaries” listed in the club’s financial statements, Chelsea may have benefited even more from the sale of the women’s squad to BlueCo.

Chelsea might have suffered a serious loss in the absence of that.

Without a front-of-shirt sponsor, the team once again made significant player acquisitions during a season without European football.

It won’t be entirely evident how much of an influence the women’s team transaction has had until the complete financial details are made public on Companies House.