Loss-making Everton makes stadium progress  

The club has reported a £120m pre-tax loss for the year ended 30 June 2021, while Laing O’Rourke continues to make progress on the 53,000-capacity new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock. 

Stadium update

The contractor, which was awarded a £77.8m contract for the enabling works package last year, has completed the construction of the concrete cores that make up the four corners of the £500m stadium. 

David Jackson, Laing O’Rourke project engineer, described the installation of the fourth corner as “a huge milestone” in the project. 

“Soon enough, we will see some steel going up in the north, along with starting slabs on the east and west stands, so it’s quickly going to start taking shape,” Jackson added. 

“It’s hard to believe that this was still a working dock when we started on site last August. That’s now a distant memory and we have achieved so much in a short period of time.” 

The financial picture

While work on the stadium continues, the club has published its financial results for the 2020/21 season, during which it recorded a record turnover of £193m.

Of this, £143m was from broadcasting rights while only £200,000 was generated through gate receipts. This was due to the vast majority of the season being played behind closed doors as a result of pandemic restrictions.

Despite record turnover, Everton FC posted losses of £120m for the year. Of that, £103m was associated with the effect of Covid-19, the club said. 

Funding the stadium

Everton turned down a £30m loan from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to cover some of the stadium costs, with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram saying the club had secured alternative private funding. 

The club has not disclosed the source of the private sector funding it has secured or how much it is worth.

The end of year financial report states that post-year end, majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri has made a further £242m available for drawdown and use by the club via an extension of an interest-free shareholder loan.

So far, Everton has received £97m of this, with the remaining £145m to be drawdown, according to the club.

“This support is being used to fund the enabling works on the new stadium development,” the report states.

A potential £30m naming rights deal with Russian company USM has been suspended amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.  

The club said the stadium’s construction programme is unaffected by this.