Newcastle United have outshone the rest of the Premier League in one financial area, the latest analysis shows.
The Magpies are currently in a race to get within the top flight’s £105m Profit and Sustainability threshold before 30th June, when the three-year assessment window rolls over.
That has led the club to try and engineer quasi-swap deals, including the aborted signing of Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which would have seen Yankuba Minteh head in the other direction.
While theSaudi Public Investment Fund have not been able to spend as heavily as they would have liked, there has been significant outlay in the transfer market.
They have had an excellent return on that investment. Eddie Howe‘s side qualified for the 2023-24 Champions League.
And, although they slipped to an 8th-place finish last season, they are still well ahead of schedule when it comes to PIF’s long-term plans for the club.
In order to compete at the very highest level, the Tynesiders need to raise revenue. And the latest figures show just how successful the PIF regime have been at doing exactly that in their time in the north east.
Newcastle’s revenue growing faster than any other Premier League club
Deloitte released their Annual Review of Football Finance this week, which surveys the economic landscape of the game in the Premier League and beyond.
In the report, the Big Four accountancy firm presented data that showed Newcastle‘s revenue grew an astonishing 39 per cent between 2021-22 and 2022-23, the last year for which financial data is available.
That upswing was the biggest of anyPremier League clubs by quite a margin, besides the clubs promoted from the Championship, where revenues are a fraction of what they are in the top flight.
Their closest challenger, Arsenal, was a distant second with 26 per cent.
The Magpies earned £180m in 2021-22, a season which saw Mike Ashley relinquish control of the club in favour of the Public Investment Fund.
In 2022-23 by contrast, they pocketed £250m. And that figure will go well beyond the £300m mark when they release their accounts for 2023-24.
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Amanda Staveley’s long-term plan pays off
Amanda Staveley, the face of the Newcastle takeover back in 2021 and now a director at St James’ Park, has previously said that the club have exceeded expectations since PIF’s investment.
Champions League qualification, which will see Newcastle’s turnover reach new record levels, is one checkpoint they have achieved well ahead of schedule.
But Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Yasir Al-Rumayyan are still looking to the long-term with their overall strategy.
Newcastle’s ascension will not be as rapid as Man City because of the millstone that is PSR.
However, there are signs that the tide could be turning in that department, with Man United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe the latest to speak out about the pitfalls of the PSR system.