Ayr United’s £2 million “spike” has been disclosed, confirming the club’s highest turnover in its history.
The Scottish Championship team revealed that their recent improvements in the Somerset Hub, along with an increase in fan attendance, had enabled them to bring in a substantial amount of money. For the year ending in June 2023, the club reported a profit of little under £20,000, and that’s before accounting for the transfer of star striker Dipo Akinyemi to York City, which is one of the largest prices the club has ever received.
The balance statement shows a “substantial turnaround” throughout the four-year period, with £68,000 in the black compared to a £1.4 million loss in 2019.
According to their study, Ayr United continued to make outstanding development both on and off the pitch, posting its biggest turnover in club history.
“After making recent improvements in the Somerset Hub and increasing attendance, the club’s turnover skyrocketed to over £2 million for the first time in its existence.
“With the sale of Dipo Akinyemi to York City, which represents one of the highest transfer payments the club has ever received and will be represented in the next fiscal year, the club ended the year with a profit of slightly under £20,000.
According to this report, the balance sheet, which was negative £1.4 million in 2019, is now positive £68,000. This is a significant change in balance sheet worth of about £1.5 million in just four years.
“The results have been hailed as ‘remarkable’ given the recent investments including a growth in employees, new facility investments and the new North Stand development.”
“When I first came into the club, we proposed a long-term vision for how we would build the club to achieve the potential that we felt was always there,” Ayr chairman David Smith stated. These findings show that we are very close to reaching that potential.
“With more and more supporters supporting our vision, we are ahead of schedule in the off-field development of the club, and it is extremely encouraging to be able to present our best financial results in the 114-year history.”
It is impossible to overestimate the role that the supporters have had in these outcomes, as evidenced by the notable rise in sales from the club store, Somerset Hub, and the crucial matchday attendance.
“The board has been able to implement many of the changes we are making because of this expansion, such as the creation of the new North Stand, which will be a significant strategic milestone and something I am personally extremely excited to see take shape.
“Like any complicated building job these days, there have been some challenges, none less than the recent harsh weather. The programme was supposed to end on June 24. Despite certain obstacles, we are now mostly on track.
“These very encouraging results demonstrate that the club is not just progressing upwards, but accelerating faster than anticipated,” said Managing Director Graeme Mathie.
“The feedback from the fans demonstrates to us as a board that the fans fully support the journey we are on, and we would not be able to succeed without their commitment and involvement.
In addition, we have been able to generate new revenue streams—possibly most notably from the Somerset Hub—as well as better foundations for our future growth through an increase in hospitality and advertising.
“With the recent increase in non-playing staff, we have taken significant steps forward in professionalising our entire operation, which is evident in both the number of young players coming through from the academy and in our ability to attract players looking to join on a permanent or loanee basis.” “The stability of the club has never been stronger.”
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