Rangers annual accounts highlight record turnover, £5.9m operating profit, record player sales, Mike Ashley settlement

Rangers have reported an operating profit of £5.9m after publishing their accounts for last season, which details record player sales and a rise in revenue largely due to their run to the Europa League final.

The Ibrox club has highlighted an enormous upturn in the club’s financial performance compared to an operating loss of £23.5m the previous year, with chairman Douglas Park saying that Rangers is “growing stronger as a club.”

The report shows a club record turnover of £86.8m for the year to 30 June 2022 - a significant jump from the £47.7m figure during the previous campaign. From this revenue, an operating profit of £5.9m was returned, representing an improvement of £27.6m on the previous year’s figure.

Off the field, over the last 12 months, Rangers received compensation for allowing Steven Gerrard and his coaching staff to join Premier Legaue side Aston Villa, and also broke their record for player sales. Nathan Patterson’s move to Everton in January accounted for an £11.2m profit, with Joe Aribo leaving for Southampton, and Calvin Bassey joining Ajax, also for significant fees.

The club also reported that during the year to June, Rangers raised new equity of £10.1m and took on new debt of £3.6m to strengthen their financial position. Their run to the Seville generated over £17m in UEFA prize money payments.

The company balance sheet displays total liabilities have increased from £5.4m to £12.4m, while a £6m litigation payment was made ‘relating to a previous retail arrangement’, after a court settlement with Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley.

In his comments, Douglas Park noted achievements on the field relating to both the men’s team winning the Scottish Cup as well as reaching the Europa League final, and the women’s team clinching the SWPL title for the first time. Park als revealed that while the club’s position was improving, he believes it is still in the middle of a lenghty “recovery project.”

“The past year has provided many highs and lows, along with challenges both on and off the park, but ultimately, I believe we are continuing to grow stronger as a club,” he wrote. “This time last year, I repeated my belief from 2015 when this current Board took control of the Club, that this would be a 10-year recovery project.

“While there have been moments in the last year that have exceeded both my own and the Board’s expectations (with specific reference to the Europa League run to the final) we cannot, and will not, stand still and continue to have so much more to do.

“Assisting us on that path are our strong executive team and talented staff both at Ibrox and at the Rangers Training Centre. Rangers was created by four pioneers, and it should be and is the aim of every single employee of the Club to continue in that spirit.”

Van Bronckhorst & Wilson praised

Although manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is currently under huge pressure to keep his job after recent poor performances and results, including a pointless Champions League campaign that set an unwanted record for worst-ever team performance in the group stages, the Dutchman has been praised for his achievements last season by Park.

Sporting director Ross Wilson has also been the subject of criticism from supporters over their summer recruitment but Park highlighted two record players sales as evidence that the club’s transfer market policy was proving successful.

Park stated: “Beginning on the pitch, we appointed Giovanni van Bronckhorst as our football manager last November. As well as delivering us the Scottish Cup for the first time in 13 years he also, as I touched on earlier, gave the club a thrilling European journey where we came within a kick of winning only our second European trophy.

“This season, under Gio’s leadership, he and the players returned us to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 12 years by navigating two difficult qualifying rounds in August.

“Our ‘player trading model’ is something your Board mention on a number of occasions. On joining the club, Ross Wilson, our Sporting Director, was mandated by the Board to build a modern football department. Player trading success was essential to this, as it is a key revenue stream for the majority of European clubs. We are pleased that in the last twelve months, we have achieved two club record sales through our player recruitment and player development processes.”

Academy improvements

Since the beginning of the 2021/22 season, Rangers have handed 14 academy graduates their first-team debut with 18-year-old defender Leon King nailing down a regular starting spot this season. Adam Devine, Charlie McCann and Robbie Ure are others who have featured regularly in Van Bronckhorst’s matchday squads.

Park admitted: “Our Academy continues to perform strongly, with Leon King the latest Academy graduate to make the breakthrough to become a regular fixture in the first team matchday squad. Encouragingly, fourteen players from the Academy have made appearances for the first team since the start of season 2021/22.

“The introduction of our B team into the Lowland League has been a fantastic success with the team being challenged week-in, week-out. Additionally, qualification of our first team for the UEFA Champions League Group Stages opened the door for our under-19s to feature in the UEFA Youth League group stages for the first time.

“Our women’s football operation is something the Board are very passionate about. Led by Amy McDonald and Malky Thomson, the club won our first SWPL title in May, and were exceptionally unlucky not to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage after a valiant effort against Benfica in qualifying.

“Our entire football operation, led by Ross Wilson, now operates in a world-class environment at the Rangers Training Centre. The Board is committed to further improvements to ensure we retain a facility among the very best in the UK.”