Brighton and Hove Albion yesterday announced a record profit of £122.8m, largely bankrolled by player sales to Chelsea.
The Premier League club’s profit represents their most successful season ever.
The Seagulls finished sixth in the Premier League last season and qualified for the Europa League.
“These accounts will of course catch the eye because of the headline number,” Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said.
“In a season when we made history on the pitch we took a huge step forward in terms of the club’s long-held aim of becoming more sustainable and less reliant on [Brighton owner] Tony Bloom’s incredibly generous levels of investment.”
Brighton have also reduced the balance on owner Tony Bloom’s interest-free loans from £406.5m to £373.3m.
The club, in the summer of 2022 and throughout 2023, sold Yves Bissouma to Tottenham for £30m, Marc Cucurella to Chelsea for £60m, Leandro Trossard to Arsenal for £21m and Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool for £35m.
The accounts ended 30 June 2023 and therefore did not include £100m Moises Caicedo and £25m Robert Sanchez, who both joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023.
“As ever we are hugely grateful to Tony Bloom for his clear vision, his world class ownership of our club, and his ongoing financial support,” added Barber.
“Similarly, we are extremely fortunate to have a top quality board, who provide us with great stability and guidance; and top level staff in all areas of the club.”
Brighton on the up… Leicester make loss
Elsewhere in football Leicester City on Tuesday reported a loss of £89.7m for the 2022-23 season, taking their losses for their last three Premier League campaigns to over £200m.
Chief executive Susan Whelan said: “After a sustained period of growth and success for the club during the last decade, the 2022-23 season was a significant setback, the consequences of which will be felt for some time.
“We must now focus on rebuilding and seeking to return to and re-establishing ourselves in the Premier League.
“Having achieved finishing positions in the Premier League of fifth, fifth and eighth in the three preceding seasons, our targets and associated budgets for 2022-23 were entirely reasonable.
“However, for a club such as ours, whose sustained sporting achievements have justified the levels of investment required to compete with the most established clubs and pursue our ambition, a season of such significant under-performance on the pitch presents financial challenges, particularly from the perspective of the game’s current Profitability and Sustainability rules.”