Lincoln City Financial Report Shows Impact Of Covid

Lincoln City has released its accounts for the financial year ending June 2021 which shows the impact Covid has had on the club’s revenues.

The accounts for the 12 months up to 30th June 2021 show the club made a net loss of £1.4m. Both income and expenses were lower during a period impacted by the pandemic.

Although central distributions declined by £52k, the club received £813k in the form of a grant as part of a rescue package distributed by the Premier League to League One and Two clubs.

Despite impressive attendance figures around the 9,000 mark in recent years, the duration of the 2020/21 campaign was played behind closed doors, which had a significant impact on matchday revenue. The exception was the sold-out Sunderland play-off fixture at LNER Stadium, where 3,145 Imps were in attendance under government restrictions.

The club benefitted from strong iFollow figures throughout the campaign, with thousands of fans watching online each week; however, the sale receipts were significantly less than physical match ticket sales as many households could watch the game for £10 (which is a net receipt of £8.33 per stream).

In addition, there are an average of just over two season ticket holders per household, meaning viewing figures were around a third of the recent in-stadia attendances.

Turnover decreased from £6.55m in 2019/20 to £5.22m for the 2020/21 financial year, however, the club’s commercial revenue position remained strong through the ongoing support from club partners during the pandemic.

The decline in turnover and other operating income was offset, to some extent, by a fall in total expenditure due to a significant decrease in activity at the stadium on a day-to-day basis alongside reduced matchday/running costs.

During the reporting period, the club welcome the Jabara family as shareholders in Lincoln City Holdings, with the family taking an initial 9% stake in June 2021. As part of this investment, the club also welcomed Former US international, Landon Donovan as a Strategic Advisor for the club.     

Directors and key investors contributed £1.28m for shares through Lincoln City Holdings, with a further £139k gratefully received from fans. A further £900k for investment into the club remained in the Holdings bank account at the end of the financial year.

The full annual financial statement can be viewed by CLICKING HERE.