Stoke City could be forced to sell stadium to avoid breaching financial rules after £88m loss

[ASFN Admin]

Stoke City could become the next Championship club to be forced into selling their stadium to avoid breaching financial rules, after recording huge pre-tax losses of £88million. The club are facing possible sanctions for breaking the Football League’s Profitability & Sustainability regulations next year and are under pressure to consider their options to reduce further losses. One of those options may be to sell or lease their ground, the bet365 Stadium, following rival Championship clubs Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading and Birmingham, in a bid to fall in line with the rules. Relegated from the Premier League in 2018, Stoke are owned by the Coates family, who have backed their managers significantly to try and regain promotion back to the top division. The impact of Covid-19 and absence of supporters since March last year has further impacted on finances, with Championship clubs allowed to record losses of £39million over a three-year period. Accounts released on Thursday reveal pre-tax losses of £88million, with turnover falling to £49.8million and operating expenses increasing to £141.4million. It is understood that around £70million of the £88million has been written off the balance sheet on the historic value of players. Stoke have been vigorously opposed to the EFL’s strict P & S rules in the past, arguing that the limits punish owners with ambition. Widely regarded as one of the best local owners in English football, the Coates family supported employees during the pandemic last year by continuing to pay wages. John Coates, the club’s chairman, recently admitted his frustration over the EFL’s rules at a fans’ forum. He said: “We'll always support our manager to the extent that the rules allow us to support him. Clearly the rules within the Championship and the profit and sustainability rules don't allow us to support him as much as we would like to." Stoke are managed by Michael O’Neill and finished 14th in the Championship this season.

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