soccer

Stoke announce £60m profit after ownership change

Stoke City are now owned outright by John Coates [Rex Features]

Stoke City have announced a profit before tax of £60.8m for the year to 31 May 2025.

The results are a dramatic improvement from the previous year's £25.7 million loss.

The turnaround is a benefit from the "structural change" that saw outright ownership of the club transfer from bet365 to chairman John Coates in August 2024.

That move saw loans worth £90.5 million waived, leaving the Potters debt free, as well as ownership of their home ground - the bet365 Stadium - and training complex transferring to the club.

Increased broadcast income from the English Football League helped push revenue to £35.4 million from £32.2 million the previous year.

But the club still recorded an operating loss of £30.9 million, up from £26.3 million, as fewer players were sold and £13m was spent on strengthening the playing squad.

A £13m upgrade on the club's Clayton Wood training facility was completed in February, which the Stoke said "further underscores the owner's commitment to providing elite facilities to support the ambition of returning to the Premier League".

Improvements to the bet365 Stadium and establishing an Elite Girls Academy were also made "strengthening the pathway for local girls from grassroots to the elite levels of the game".

The club said they are working with the EFL and Independent Football Regulator to establish rules that allow "a greater level of sustainable owner investment for the benefit of the club and local area".

They added Mr Coates, whose family first got involved with Stoke in the 1980s, "remains dedicated to the long-term, sustainable success of Stoke City and its ongoing objective to achieve promotion to the top flight".

Stoke, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2018, sit 14th in the Championship, 10 points outside the play-offs, and travel to Swansea on Saturday.

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