Newcastle’s new owners inject £168m into club, latest accounts reveal

Newcastle’s new owners have pumped in £167.9m since their arrival, the club’s latest financial statement has revealed.

Figures for the 11 months to 30 June 2021, during which Mike Ashley was still at the helm, show turnover fell by £12.4m to £140.2m with match income slashed by 99% to just £0.2m because of the absence of crowds at St James’ Park under Covid-19 restrictions.

Media revenue increased by £13.2m to £119.3m, and the club’s wages-to-turnover ratio fell from 79.4% to 76.2%, although that was in part because the previous accounting period covered 13 months. A loss after tax of £12.2m represents a drop of £10.3m on the previous period.

Amanda Staveley’s 80% Saudi-backed consortium completed its takeover in October last year and has injected almost £168m in equity, partly in settlement of an outstanding interest-free loan owed to Ashley’s St James Holdings Limited – the figures revealed the former owner was due £106.9m – and also to fund signings.

A £90m-plus spending spree was sanctioned on Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Bruno Guimarães, as well as loan acquisition Matt Targett, in a successful attempt to stave off relegation.

The report, signed by Staveley, said: “Since acquisition, the new owners have injected equity funding totalling £167.9m into the company, partly in settlement of the outstanding loan owed to St James Holdings Limited and partly in cash, the latter of which enabled significant investment into the playing squad in the January 2022 transfer window, reflected in the net spend disclosure below …

After the period end, the group contracted for the purchase and sale of a number of players. The net cost of these transfers, excluding any contingent fees, was £112m.”

The consortium comprises