British Olympic Association Sells Assets To Balance Books

BOA Chair Colin Moynihan Says Organization Will Balance Its Budget Between Now And 2012

The British Olympic Association “was forced to use the proceeds of asset sales to balance its books last year, and faces a significant financial challenge if it is to break even in the build-up” to the ’12 London Games, according to Paul Kelso of the London TELEGRAPH. The BOA in ’09 “avoided recording a loss only by using proceeds from the sales of key assets to fund day-to-day operations.” The organization recorded an operating loss of just over $1.55M (all figures U.S.) on “its ordinary activities, and balanced its books only after using” $2.47M from the sale of its former Wandsworth HQs and “selling its ticket rights to the next four summer and winter Olympic Games” to LOCOG. Accounts for FY '09 show an operating profit of about $804,000 on revenue of roughly $12.8M “achieved only after these extraordinary measures.” The ’10 budget is “understood to have been balanced thus far despite the costs of sending teams” to the Vancouver Games and the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Despite the "financial challenges of the last few years," BOA Chair Colin Moynihan insists that the organization “will balance its budget between now and 2012, and is well-placed to secure its long-term future from sponsorship when the rights revert after” the ’12 London Games. Moynihan also insists that “no programmes will be cut and that the British team in London will be the biggest ever sent” (London TELEGRAPH, 9/1).