Cardiff lose £11m and remain reliant on owner Tan
Cardiff City recorded pre-tax losses of £11.66m in its last financial year, covering the 2023-24 season, with new accounts showing further support from owner Vincent Tan.
However, the sale of a percentage stake in a possible “proceeds from a litigation claim made by the club” increased the Championship
team’s most recent financial results by £12 million.
Although Cardiff did not mention the matter by name, the French club Nantes and Cardiff have been embroiled in a protracted legal
battle over Emiliano Sala’s passing.
The striker died in an aircraft crash in January 2019, and the Bluebirds had already complained in a French court about losses
exceeding £100 million. In order to finalise a £15 million deal from Nantes, the 28-year-old has been heading to south Wales. This
summer is when the case is anticipated to be heard.
In a statement on the accounts on the club’s website, signed by chairman Mehmet Dalman and finance director Philip Jenkins, they
say the £12m received is “non-refundable and not dependant on the ultimate outcome of the litigation case itself”.
Cardiff had previously settled a High Court case with an insurance firm in connection with Sala’s death, with these latest accounts
showing an unnamed “settlement arising from a contractual dispute” to the value of £5.57m.
Elsewhere, the club’s turnover fell by more than £3m and increased investment into the playing squad.
With the player wage bill up by 40% to £19.9m, it resulted in an operating loss of just under £10m – down by £1.1m compared to the
previous year – with the club again detailing reliance on the ongoing support of majority shareholder Tan.
The Malaysian backer, who took control of Cardiff in 2010, added another £11.83m worth of loans, bringing the total owed to the
businessman to around £68m.
The club says that, as previously, the loans will be written off or converted to equity, while interest is also being waived. Tan has also
provided a written commitment outlining his ongoing support, without which the club admits its future “would look much more
precarious”.
Loans from directors and other connected parties have also increased by an additional £11m, taking the total to £40.3m.
Among the other outlays was £1.13 million for the club’s academy, which opened a new site at the beginning of the previous season
and is expected to get additional funding.
Along with the signing of a 150-year lease with Vale of Glamorgan Council for the 42-acre site, the club also confirmed an initial
payment of £1.6 million for the investment in a new training facility. Construction is anticipated to begin this summer in preparation
for the 2026–2027 season.
A “more stable, stronger footing for the future” is what the club claims will result from this investment, which also includes raising
expenditure on the first team squad.
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