Wealthy Premier League clubs and "extravagant" transfers such as ManU’s world record deal for Paul Pogba "may hog the limelight, but canny investors are increasingly taken by England’s less glamorous teams," according to Frank Dalleres of CITY AM. Four in 10 clubs in the three divisions below the top flight fielded approaches from potential investors in the last year, and that figure rose to 73% "for the fourth tier -- League Two -- alone." That "interest came from overseas as much as domestic suitors," said accountant BDO, which reported the findings in its annual survey of football finance directors, published Thursday. Investors "have been attracted by the potential for future growth in the medium to long term as clubs enjoy greater financial stability following the successful adoption of cost-control measures." Premier League teams’ new era of profitability "is underlined by BDO’s research," which found that 88% of top-flight sides expected to be in the black for the coming season, which starts on Saturday. The picture "is less rosy in the fiercely competitive Championship, English football’s second tier," where 23% of clubs said that their finances "were in need of attention or a cause for concern" (CITY AM, 8/11).
MONEY PROBLEMS: In Edinburgh, Gavin McCafferty wrote a survey of football finance directors revealed that Scottish Premiership clubs "face increasingly difficult financial situations." One of the five Premiership directors who responded to BDO’s confidential survey stated his club’s finances were a cause for "grave concern/on the verge of administration." Another said they were "in need of attention." The other three stated their finances were either very healthy or "could be better but not bad." Every response in the previous year’s study "had been in these two categories." The findings "contrast starkly to English league clubs, around half of whom responded." Three-quarters of Premier League clubs "are in a very healthy financial position" and 88% expect to make a profit in '16-17. BDO Professional Sports Head Ian Clayden said, "The Scottish Premiership remains a mixed bag with widely varying results across most of our survey. Certainly, with incredibly low TV rights income compared with English football, SP clubs are facing many financial challenges" (SCOTSMAN, 8/11).
