Back in the black
GUERNSEY FC are back on financial track after two wobbly years when accounts pointed to a threat to its future.
The figures filed at Companies House for 2017 and 2018 did not make for pretty reading.
Losses of £52k in 2017 and £42k in 2018 suggested the Green Lions were in financial trouble.
However, the accounts finally filed for June 2019 show that the club made a profit in the region of £21k and there is a hope that figure will rise when the 2020 figures are released next summer.
The current assets, which must be mostly cash, have risen £59k and a local expert in accounting procedures told the Press that the rise in accruals and deferred income would also imply an increase in sponsorship, possibly countered to a degree by a drop in season ticket sales.
GFC chairman Mark Le Tissier will be relieved, as will all Green Lions fans who would have been devastated to see the club go, in effect, bankrupt.
‘Clearly the losses in 2017 and 2018 were not sustainable,’ said Le Tissier.
‘We undertook a complete review of all our expenditure and income and we reduced our costs wherever it was possible and we worked hard to increase income through additional sponsorship and fund raising activities whilst continuing to support other charities in the community,’ he added.
Other factors helped, as he explained.
‘In 2018-2019 the number of teams in our league reduced from 24 teams to 20 teams, therefore we had less travel and accommodation costs which will always be our largest expenditure.
‘All of these factors have had a beneficial effect on our financial results for 2019 and we will work hard to ensure this continues into the future.’
Le Tissier said some weeks ago that unlike many rival clubs at their level in the UK pyramid, the way the club operate, they did not expect to be seriously impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Back in April, he said: ‘Although we are not flush we feel we have enough to see us through,’ adding that with minimal overheads in effect between seasons, little money is going out of the club at present.
‘We’ve got some employees but it is not a significant amount. At the moment we will be OK. We are in a position that we can sustain the club without too much burden.’
Delays in the building of the club’s shared stadium facilities at Victoria Avenue will not help longer term, but Le Tissier paints a bright future for the club he and others set up a decade ago.
‘The Board of Directors are committed to ensuring the long term viability of the club and with the assistance and support of the business community, States of Guernsey, Guernsey FA, The Football Association and our loyal fans we will deliver a new football stadium at Victoria Avenue which will benefit football in Guernsey for many years to come.
‘We have always been grateful for the support of our many sponsors and to our loyal fans who have continued to support us during what has been a transition period on the pitch.
‘Many of the original squad have either retired or returned to their local club which has given an opportunity for the next generation of local talented players to learn to play at this challenging level in the FA National League System.’
