The Leeds United accounts have been published again which has understandably become the biggest talking point amongst Leeds United fans. Like the majority of Leeds United fans, when I looked at them I was totally overwhelmed by all the numbers and financial speak so decided it was probably best to get a couple of people with a financial background to tell us what they mean.

I won’t be naming any names as to who I had look at these accounts as it’s a sensitive subject that will undoubtedly lead to controversy and could potentially result in harrassment from other fans. Both the people I asked however work in finance and have a solid understanding of what they mean. You should also note that the accounts are for the year ending June ’09, so don’t include the sale of Fabian Delph.

Profitable… just!

The first thing to note is how measly the profit margin for the year ending June 2009 was. Leeds United made just £15,000 at the end of the year, despite good attendances, no real transfer activity and extortionate ticket prices.

Furthermore, Leeds United were only profitable due to player sales, where they made in excess of £2,000,000. This begs the question, how do we strengthen the team if we aren’t actually making money?

Outgoings

Nothing major here either. Aside from the loan being repayed to the investors which we already knew about from the 2008 report, there’s nothing you wouldn’t expect to see on the financial report of any given football club. The one thing both of the people I contacted noted however was that Leeds United’s legal fees seemed extremely high with RM Taylor’s company taking a whopping £331k over the year. Hardly surprising when you’re run by Ken Bates though I guess?

Conclusion

There’s nothing particularly ground-breaking really. The problem with these audited reports is that they generalise everything into sections so it’s hard to really see what we’ve spent money on and where. The one major worry is that without player sales, Leeds United would not be a profitable club and it’s unlikely we’ll be able to challenge in the Championship with so little money available. The conclusion from both was that investment was needed to take this club forward.

What was also mentioned was the plans for the hotel and leisure complex on the side of the East Stand. Both of the people I asked failed to see how Leeds United would be able to pay for the construction of this. This could mean that Ken Bates and FSF need to invest funds into Leeds United to build the property, or it could also mean that the hotel is to be built by a seperate company from Leeds United AFC. One things for sure though, Leeds United AFC don’t have the money to finance it.