Financial sustainability of men's football clubs: The Premier League de-couples from the pyramid
This content is AI generated, click here to find out more about Transpose™.
For terms of use click here.
Losses reduce sharply for Premier League clubs, but lower down the pyramid they continue to grow at potentially unsustainable levels.
Welcome to the third edition of our annual report on the financial sustainability of men’s football clubs in the English League pyramid
For the first time, this edition includes all 24 National League clubs alongside the 92 clubs across the Premier League, Championship, and Leagues One and Two. This reflects the Football Governance Act, passed in July 2025, bringing clubs in the National League under supervision by the new Independent Football Regulator.
Our findings are based on the latest published accounts (typically for the year to 30 June 2024). All 116 clubs in the top five divisions of men’s football in England now feature in the LCP Football Sustainability Matrix, which assesses both financial sustainability and sporting success.
'De-coupling' of the Premier League
Our analysis shows that men’s football in England is still thriving in many respects - Premier League stadiums are packed, revenues are growing, and fan interest remains strong across the pyramid. Despite this, the new Independent Football Regulator will face serious challenges.
In particular, most clubs lose money and depend on wealthy owners to fund those losses, though with little assurance this support will continue – leaving them at risk if the owner is unable or unwilling to maintain funding.
We also see evidence of an increasing “de-coupling” of the Premier League from the rest of the pyramid:
- In the Premier League, losses have narrowed as PSR and UEFA salary-cap rules have curbed spending. Player wages have on average been under 70% of revenues for many years - with losses mainly due to transfer spending, which can be cut back quickly if needed. Losses across Premier League clubs fell from 12% of revenues in 2022/23 to only 4% in 2023/24.
- Lower down the pyramid, however, losses have increased sharply: the average Championship club now loses around £15m a year (38% of revenues), League One £5m (68% of revenues), League Two over £2m, and National League clubs around £1m. It is high player wages which have been driving these deficits - Championship wage-to-revenue ratios have fallen slightly, but remain unsustainable at 91%, while League One’s ratio has climbed sharply to 87%.
More positively, there is still a steady stream of new owners, particularly from the US. Many financial issues at clubs such as Reading, Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday have reflected sellers demanding unrealistic prices, rather than a lack of potential buyers.
But with rising losses in the lower leagues, we are concerned there is a real risk that we may soon reach a tipping point, where buyer demand falls behind the number of clubs for sale. This could put many smaller clubs, which are bedrocks of their local communities, in serious financial trouble.
Want to read the full report?
Email us for your copyOur recommendations
LCP recommends that the Independent Football Regulator:
- Requires clubs to provide greater security against projected future losses through either liquid assets or legally binding guarantees/contingent assets
- Ringfences part of any additional distributed funds from the Premier League down the pyramid to support longer-term stability in areas such as:
- Football infrastructure, including stadiums, training facilities and academies
- Operational infrastructure and commercial systems
- Social impact initiatives such as fan engagement, inclusion programmes, women’s teams and environmental sustainability
- Paying off debt
- Consider making it a requirement for clubs to have their accounts audited. This should reduce the risk of financial mismanagement (accidental or deliberate) going unnoticed until it becomes a major problem.
Scroll down to explore our key findings
The Independent Football Regulator: Challenge or opportunity?
Join our event with panellists from football clubs, leagues, and the Football Supporters Association (FSA) to explore emerging views on its direction and assess whether the new framework represents a challenge, an opportunity, or both.
Key findings
The concentration of wealth among the traditional 'Big Six' remains clear, accounting for nearly half of industry revenue (47%).
Despite increasing total revenues (up by 7% to £7.7bn), clubs overall remain hugely loss-making. 84% of clubs lost money and, while losses fell sharply in the Premier League, they rose further across the EFL and National League.
Premier League clubs lost on average 4% of total revenues (down from 12% the previous season), but for the Championship the loss-ratio was 38% and for League One 68%. Championship losses (£369m) were higher than for the Premier League (£260m) for the first time in our analysis.
The average Championship club now loses around £15m a year, League One £5m, League Two over £2m, and National League clubs around £1m. It is primarily high player wages which have been driving these deficits.
While in the Premier League wages as a proportion of revenues continue to fall, the Championship wage-to-revenue ratio remains unsustainable at 91%, and League One’s ratio has climbed sharply to 87%.
Most clubs remain heavily reliant on their owners to provide regular cash injections to fund ongoing losses, be it through debt or equity though with little assurance this support will continue. This leaves them at risk if the owner is unable or unwilling to maintain funding.
74% of clubs’ accounts disclose either a material uncertainty over their ability to remain operational for 12 months (13 clubs) or a dependence on non-legally binding owner funding to meet their obligations as they fall due (73). Only 30 clubs were able to sign off their accounts without such disclosures.
30 regulated clubs (25% of the total) did not have their accounts audited meaning there was no independent oversight of their financial management. These included 4 League One clubs, 7 League Two clubs and 19 in the National League.
Football in numbers
Revenue
-
£7.7bnTotal revenue, increased by 7%
-
83%The Premier League clubs account for the vast majority of revenue across the pyramid
-
47%The 'Big Six' clubs account for almost half the revenue across the pyramid
Losses
-
£827mAggregate losses across the pyramid – down from £1.2bn due to sharp fall in Premier League losses
-
£369mTotal losses by clubs in the Championship – greater than Premier League losses for the first time
-
68%Average losses by League One clubs as proportion of total revenues
Wages to revenue
-
£5.2bnTotal wages, increased by 6%
-
50%Championship clubs whose wages exceeded total revenues
-
87%Wages as proportion of total revenues for League One clubs (up from 76%)
Debt
-
£2.9bnTotal owner debt (down from £3.0bn)
-
£7.6bnTotal football net debt[1], increased by 7%
-
99%Total football net debt as proportion of annual industry revenue
Going concern[2]
-
84%The large majority of clubs (97 of 116) made a loss
-
13 clubs11% of clubs disclosed a 'material uncertainty' on whether they could continue operating for another 12 months
-
73 clubs63% of clubs disclosed they are dependent on owner funding to continue as a going concern
1. Football net debt is calculated as total borrowings, less cash, plus the net balance due on transfers.
2. Going concern is an accounting concept, which indicates whether a business, in this case a football club, is expected to be able to continue operating for at least another 12 months following the signing of their accounts.
LCP Football Sustainability Matrix - Best and worst financial scores
Request a copy of the full report which contains the detailed results of the LCP Football Sustainability Matrix, which compares clubs’ performance on both financial and sporting metrics.
Strongest financial scores by league
Manchester City
Brighton & Hove Albion
Luton Town
Plymouth Argyle
Coventry City
Rotherham
Exeter City
Cheltenham Town
Carlisle United
Tranmere Rovers
Newport County
Barrow
Rochdale
Boreham Wood
Wealdstone
Weakest financial scores by league
Nottingham Forest
Blackburn Rovers
Oxford United
Colchester United
Chesterfield
LCP combines financial expertise with a deep understanding of the football industry, all underpinned by decades of experience supporting our clients operating in complex regulatory environments.
Find out about our sports finance and governance service, including our new LCP Assist service - aimed at giving club’s confidence in their ability to meet the new regulatory and licensing requirements under the Independent Football Regulator.
