Marcus Evans’ move to write-off debt owed to him following the sale of Ipswich Town has been highlighted in the club’s latest accounts.
Under Evans, who sold the club to Gamechanger 20 last April, the Blues’ debt had reached £117m, with that figure owed almost exclusively to the former owner. But, as part of the takeover, Evans pledged to write off that debt.
The newly-published accounts, up to June 30, 2021, show total losses now sitting at £9.187m. It’s an overall drop of £91.5m on the balance sheet, from £101m a year ago, though the report notes £96.3m in loans have been waived or settled.
Speaking following the completion of the takeover in April, new Town chairman Mike O’Leary said: “Marcus (Evans) has invested considerable money, time and energy in Ipswich Town. His decision to waive much of the club’s outstanding debt is one that deserves the gratitude of every single Ipswich Town fan.
He added: "We have repaid approximately £21m of debt and Marcus has waived the majority of all the other debts.
"There's a tiny bit left of debt left, £400k, that remains between Ipswich Town PLC and Ipswich Town Ltd. That's the only debt that remains. Apart from that the club is debt free."
The group balance sheet shows a positive balance of £3.5m, compared to a negative £91.5m a year ago
The summer of 2021 was an extremely busy one in terms of transfers, with 19 new players arriving and 20 departing. The latest accounts, though, only cover the arrivals of Wes Burns, Vaclav Hladky and Rekeem Harper, as well as Macauley Bonne’s loan, prior to the June 30 cut-off. The accounts show a spend of £764,000 on transfer fees.
The accounts also note that, since the end of the reporting period, the club have spent £2.8m on transfer fees, which would cover the purchases of Scott Fraser, George Edmundson, Christian Walton, Conor Chaplin, Sam Morsy and Cameron Burgess, as well as any potential loan fees involved in deals for Bersant Celina, Dominic Thompson and Tyreeq Bakinson.
The accounts also show £2.26m in player sales during a period which included the departures of Andre Dozzell, Aaron Drinan, Jack Lankester and Oli Hawkins.
It works out as a player trading profit of nearly £1.4m over the period.
The accounts show Town’s wage bill increased to £13.9m by the end of the reporting period, a rise of £1million from the previous year. Town were shown to be paying out £160 in wages for every £100 brought in.
Overall, the accounts cover the 2020/21 season, which was played almost entirely behind-closed-doors due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The accounts show a £7.6 million operating loss, down from £8.6 million in the previous season, while turnover dropped from £10.6 million to £8.1 million. Revenue was down £2.5 million.
Town’s only games in front of fans at Portman Road saw just 2,000 attend the clashes with Portsmouth and Burton in December of 2020, with ticket sales dropping from £3.9m in 2019/20 to just £68,000 over the course of the campaign.
The accounts show season ticket holders received £2.6m in compensation, with games played behind closed doors, with £207,000 gifted back to the club in donations from supporters.
Merchandise sales increased by £350,000 on the previous year, thanks to the club’s 1981-inspired home shirt, but commercial revenue dropped significantly as a result of the pandemic.
The Blues did benefit from being one of League One’s best-supported clubs in terms of iFollow, while the club’s income from the EFL increased by more than £1.5m based on the previous year.
Town received £1.5m as part of the government’s job retention scheme during the period, with employees and younger players put on furlough during the pandemic, while there was also a Covid insurance payment of £2.5m.
In his notes accompanying the accounts, Town’s new finance director, Tom Ball, laid out just how vital it is for the club to win promotion from League One.
He wrote: “The directors consider the that the principal risk facing (the club) is the performance and divisional status of Ipswich Town Football Club. The implications this has on the ability to generate revenue streams are significant, albeit mitigated by the financial strength and support provided by the parent company.
“The short-term objective of the club is to rebuild a competitive playing squad and secure promotion back to the Championship. The medium-term plan is to increase revenues at the club both on and off the field.”
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