Juventus' accounts for '17-18 are "expected to show a loss of close to" €20M ($23.4M), "largely due to a decrease in Champions League revenue." The first half of '17-18 closed with a profit of €43.3M, but that was a decrease of €28.7M from the same period the previous year. Exor, Juventus' holding company, released financial statements for the full year, which show an operating loss of €62.2M (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 9/12).
Rugby league side Balmain Tigers staved off voluntary administration by "negotiating a significant financial contribution" from Heworth Pty. Ltd., the developer that took control of the Rozelle site 18 months ago. Rumors "swirled for days" that Balmain would be forced into voluntary administration, almost 10 years to the day after the start of the global financial crisis, which "halved the value" of its assets (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/13).
Brasileiro Série B side Avaí is the first club to launch its own cryptocurrency, with in Initial Coin Offering targeting a $20M capital raise. Partnered with blockchain technology specialist SportyCo and football investment specialist Blackbridge Sports, the Avaí FC Token will go on sale on Oct. 3 for $1, with the sale period lasting for a month (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 9/12).
U.K. gambling group GVC reported a rise in profit helped by the World Cup, but said that it was "looking to offset" falling U.K. revenues with the "significant new market opportunity" provided by the opening up of the U.S. gambling sector. The company on Thursday said that revenues for the first six months of the year were up 8% to £1.7B ($2.2B) compared with the same period in '17 (FINANCIAL TIMES, 9/13).
Goals Soccer Centres, in which Sports Direct is the biggest shareholder with 18.9%, said that a 2.8% fall in like-for-like sales in the first half was "followed by a strong start to the second half." Like-for-like sales for the year turned positive, which, according to analysts, implied growth of 8-9% in July and August, or an extra two or three games a day at each center (LONDON TIMES, 9/13).
Sports Direct was forced to issue a statement clarifying that it did not intend to make a takeover offer for Debenhams "after yet another chaotic annual meeting." Confusion arose after Simon Bentley, the outgoing senior independent director, allegedly told journalists that the board "discussed the possibility of combining Debenhams with its newly acquired House of Fraser department stores chain." Sports Direct "quickly denied that this was the case" and its spokesperson said that Bentley, who spoke to the media after the meeting concluded, had been "misunderstood" (LONDON TIMES, 9/13).
