Something to smile about: Arsenal are expected to
reveal another rise in profits
Arsenal are
expected to announce annual figures that will leave many rival
Premier League clubs green with envy.
The Gunners are due to announce new record profits - and that
they have paid off all the debts on their Highbury Square
development six months early.
That means the club can expect a £30million windfall from
selling off around 90 apartments, while the cost of paying off the
Emirates Stadium development is comfortably covered by income.
The rosy financial picture for the year up to June 2010 will
please some fans but may leave others asking why manager Arsene
Wenger has been reluctant to strengthen his team with more
established stars, particularly among his goalkeepers.
A year ago, Arsenal announced pre-tax profits had risen 24 per
cent to £45.5m. Another increase for the year ending June 2010 is
expected courtesy of property sales and around a £4m rise in
Premier League income to £51.7m and a similar increase in Champions
League income to £27.3m.
It is the paying off of the Highbury Square loans that will have
delighted the Arsenal hierarchy most however. They were initially
forced to extend the bank repayment deadline of April this year to
December after the property slump first hit.
Since then the development has prospered and the debt - which
once totalled £133m - has now been repaid in full.
That means Arsenal's only debt outstanding is for the Emirates
Stadium, which is around the £220-£230m mark costing around
£16million a year in interest and to be paid off by 2031.