Burnley Financial Results 2025/26
A One-Year Premier League Return, Relegation Again, and a Loss Cushioned by a £38.8 Million Award.
Back down after one season
Burnley's 2025/26 season was a brief return to the Premier League that ended in relegation. Promoted as Championship runners-up in 2024/25 with 100 points under Scott Parker, the club sat 19th from November and won just four of its first 34 league games. Relegation, its third in five seasons, was confirmed with four matches to play after a 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City. Parker left by mutual consent at the end of April, with assistant Mike Jackson taking interim charge. Burnley finished 19th and went out in the third round of the Carabao Cup and the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Premier League revenue, and costs to match
Back in the Premier League, Burnley's turnover doubled to £144.5 million from £71.7 million, driven by higher broadcast distributions and commercial income. Costs rose sharply alongside it: salaries and wages reached an all-time high of £123.1 million, around £41 million more than the year before, and absorbed 85% of turnover. The club reported a pre-tax loss of £9.0 million, down from £29.2 million, helped by £36.2 million of profit on player sales. However, it would have reported a loss of around £47.8 million were it not for a £38.8 million compensation award, explained below.
Funding continued, with a further £21.6 million of net funding in 2025/26 taking the total to around £142 million over the last five years. That is not excessive by Premier League standards, but it is a lot for a club now 22nd in the Championship.
The Everton award
In June 2026 a Premier League independent commission ordered Everton to compensate Burnley for breaching profit and sustainability rules in 2021/22. Everton overspent the £105 million limit by £19.5 million, and Burnley, relegated that season, argued the breach cost them their place. The commission accepted that, without it, Everton had roughly a 51% chance of finishing below them, and awarded £26.0 million in damages plus interest, against a claim of about £51.7 million. Burnley booked £26.0 million as other operating income and £12.8 million as interest income.
It is the first time a club has been awarded compensation from another for breaching Premier League financial rules. Everton are appealing, and anything from nil to the full amount could be repayable.
Ownership
Burnley are owned by ALK Capital LLC, led by American Alan Pace, through Velocity Capital (UK) Holdings. ALK completed its takeover in December 2020, acquiring an initial 84% stake in a deal reported at around £200 million. The purchase was largely debt-financed, with MSD UK Holdings funding most of the upfront payment and the balance coming from Burnley's own cash, paid up to the new parent. Minority investors joined in 2023, and no new equity has been put into the club since the takeover.
Financial highlights:
Turnover doubled on the return to the Premier League. £144.5 million, up 101% from £71.7 million, driven by higher broadcast distributions and commercial income.
Salaries and wages at an all-time high. £123.1 million, £40.9 million more than the year before and 85% of turnover.
A smaller headline loss, but only because of the Everton award. The pre-tax loss narrowed to £9.0 million from £29.2 million. Excluding the £38.8 million award, it would have been £47.8 million, the largest in the period shown.
The award is under appeal. It comprises £26.0 million in damages and £12.8 million of interest, and the outcome could range from nil to the full amount being repayable. No provision has been made.
An improved underlying operating position, still loss-making. EBITDA was a £10.0 million loss, against a £35.3 million loss in 2024/25, but the operating loss after amortisation was still £65.8 million.
Amortisation rose sharply. £52.7 million, up from £36.7 million, after heavy investment in the squad in summer 2025.
Player sales profit of £36.2 million. Lower than the £59.0 million of 2024/25, with sales of Estève, Tchaouna, Anthony and Koleosho all completed in July 2026. Net trading spend was only £4.8 million.
Net debt halved to £62.9 million. Borrowings fell to £86.2 million from £142.4 million, funded largely by the parent repaying £77.7 million of the £81.0 million it owed the club.
Net assets fell to £16.6 million from £25.6 million, matching the year's loss. Without the Everton award, the club would be in a net liability position.
Another year of negative operating cash flow. £20.0 million, the fifth in a row, with cash rising to £23.3 million only because of the parent repayment.
Going concern remains a material uncertainty. Loan facilities of £24.3 million expiring in January 2027 and £21.6 million in August 2027 are being refinanced, with the parent's written support in place.
Financial Outlook
Hayen sacked with the club 22nd in the Championship
The start to 2026/27 has been very poor. Head coach Nicky Hayen, appointed in the summer on a three-year deal to replace Scott Parker, was sacked on 24 October after a 4-1 defeat at Lincoln City. Fabio Celestini, previously at CSKA Moscow and Basel, took over, drawing 0-0 at home to Portsmouth and 1-1 at QPR, which, at the time of this report, leaves the club 22nd with 10 points from 14 games.
Following relegation there has been significant turnover of the squad. Celestini himself pointed to the difficulty of staying stable after "many changes". Supporters have reacted angrily, with chants against chairman Alan Pace at recent home games.
Revenue to fall by around £75 Million, with a loss likely above £50 million
The financial picture for 2026/27 is difficult. We expect revenue to fall to between £70 million and £75 million, even with parachute payments of around £50 million. Salaries and wages, which reached £123.1 million, will need to fall towards £85 million to meet the new squad cost rules. Amortisation should fall as the sold players leave the books, although new signings will offset part of that.
Even so, we expect a large loss, probably above £50 million before any further player sales. although the club has few high-value players left to sell. Sales since the year end, including a likely loss on Florentino, will add only a modest profit.
The result is a club that remains dependent on its owners. Cash was £23.3 million at the year end, £45.9 million of loan facilities expire in 2027 and a second year of parachute payments will help.
Financial Results 2025/26
The detail behind the numbers. Here we look more closely at Burnley's 2025/26 results and what sits behind the headline figures — from turnover and staff costs to profitability, regulatory position, net assets, player trading, debt and cash.
Turnover
Burnley's turnover doubled to £144.5 million in 2025/26, from £71.7 million the year before, as promotion replaced Championship broadcast income with Premier League distributions. Broadcast revenue now makes up 82% of the total, matchday 7% and commercial 10%, a reminder of how dependent the club is on television money, and of what relegation will take away.
Whilst only Burnley and Manchester United have published results for 2025/26, it is clear Burnley will report the lowest revenue in the division by some margin.
Matchday revenue increases 12% to £10.6 million
Burnley have played at Turf Moor since 1883, the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football, and own it through the group. Its capacity of 21,944 makes it one of the smallest in the Premier League, which caps what matchday income can contribute.
Matchday income rose to £10.6 million from £9.4 million (+12.1%), despite Burnley playing fewer home league matches in the Premier League (19) than in the Championship (23) and exiting both domestic cups relatively early. The increase came from yield: average attendance edged up to 21,005, or 96% of capacity, from 19,876, and matchday revenue per fan rose to £24.80 from £18.80, the highest in the club's history. Matchday remains the smallest of the three revenue streams, at 7% of turnover.
Premier League distributions more than double Broadcast revenue
Broadcast income more than doubled to £118.9 million, from £55.2 million (+115%), accounting for almost the whole of the £72.8 million increase in turnover. The prior-year figure, earned in the Championship, included parachute payments following the 2023/24 relegation.
Premier League central distributions were boosted by the new four-year Premier League rights cycle worth £6.7 billion in total, a 4% increase on the previous cycle. Burnley's income is estimated at around £117 million, made up of an equal share of roughly £97 million, about £15 million of facility fees for 17 televised games and a merit payment of around £5 million for finishing 19th.
Back in the Championship, Burnley will again receive parachute payments, which are paid for two seasons to clubs relegated after a single year in the Premier League. They are estimated at around £50 million in 2026/27 and £40 million in 2027/28, cushioning the fall in broadcast income
Commercial revenue doubles
Commercial income more than doubled to £15.0 million, from £7.1 million (+112%), driven by sponsorship and merchandise sales. Other commercial activities rose to £12.6 million from £4.4 million, while retail sales were slightly lower at £2.5 million, from £2.7 million.
Burnley's principal partners during the season included Castore as kit supplier and 96.com as front-of-shirt sponsor. As a betting company, 96.com's deal ended with the season, in line with the Premier League's ban on front-of-shirt betting sponsorship from 2026/27. Its replacement, Finotive, was terminated after only 42 days, and local automotive retailer Vertu, a club partner since 2022/23, has taken over the front of the shirt.
Even after the increase, commercial income is a small base, and at 10% of turnover is one of the lowest in the Premier League.
Staff Costs
Staff costs comprise salaries and wages, the amortisation of transfer fees (spreading a player's acquisition cost over the length of their contract), and any impairment charges. Burnley had no impairment charge in either year.
Club record salaries and wages
Salaries and wages rose to a record £123.1 million in 2025/26, from £82.3 million the year before (+49.7%), as the club moved from Championship to Premier League wage levels and added significantly to the squad.
Player amortisation also climbed, to £52.7 million from £36.7 million. The summer 2025 signings, 13 players brought in for around £113 million, drove the increase to amortisation.
Total staff costs rose 47.8% to £175.8 million, from £119.0 million. As a share of turnover, however, the ratio improved sharply to 121.7%, from 165.8%, because turnover doubled while costs grew by around half. Salaries and wages alone absorbed 85.2% of turnover, down from 114.7%.
Burnley's staff costs are likely one of the lowest in the division for 2025/26.
Profit on player sales drops
Burnley reported a profit on player sales of £36.2 million, down from £59.0 million the year before, which included the £31 million sale of goalkeeper James Trafford to Manchester City.
The accounts do not name the players, but the timing of the summer 2026 sales suggests the profit came largely from four departures completed in July, just before the 31 July year end: Maxime Estève to RB Leipzig, Loum Tchaouna to Coventry City, Jaidon Anthony to Brentford and Luca Koleosho to Paris FC. Together they were sold for around £70 million, against an estimated net book value of about £20 million.
The sales of Zian Flemming and Florentino to Ipswich Town likely came after the year end, and will be reported in 2026/27. Burnley are likely to take a loss on Florentino, who joined on loan from Benfica with an obligation to buy that was triggered during the season, at a cost of around £20.8 million. After relegation he was sold to Ipswich for around £16 million.
Profit and Loss
Burnley reported a pre-tax loss of £9.0 million in 2025/26, down from £29.2 million, but only because of the £38.8 million Everton award. We treat the award, made up of £26.0 million in damages and £12.8 million of interest, as an exceptional item because it distorts the trend. Without it the loss would have been £47.8 million, considerably worse than the year before despite turnover doubling to £144.5 million.
Large losses are not new at Burnley. Before this year the club lost between £28 million and £36 million in each of its previous three seasons, and its only sizeable profit since 2018/19 came in 2021/22, when £54.7 million of player sales produced a £36.1 million surplus. Results in the other seasons before that were close to break-even.
Costs absorbed the revenue gain in 2025/26. Salaries and wages rose to £123.1 million from £82.3 million and £30 million higher than their EPL 2023/24 season. Other operating expenses increased to £39.2 million from £29.8 million, leaving an EBITDA loss of £10.0 million, an improvement on £35.3 million the previous year. Player amortisation then rose to £52.7 million from £36.7 million, taking the operating loss to £65.8 million, compared with £74.6 million in 2024/25.
Profit on player sales of £36.2 million offset part of that, although it was down on the £59.0 million of 2024/25. Net interest was a £18.2 million cost, with interest paid rising to £23.2 million from £20.4 million and interest received falling to £5.0 million from £6.9 million once the award interest is excluded.
Regulation and Compliance
No profitability and sustainability regulation concern in 2025/26
2025/26 was the last season in which Premier League clubs were assessed under the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which limit adjusted losses to £105 million over a rolling three-year period, after deductions for items such as women's football, academy investment and community programmes.
On a simple, unadjusted basis, Burnley's results of a £28.4 million loss in 2023/24, a £29.2 million loss in 2024/25 and a £9.0 million loss in 2025/26 total £66.6 million, well inside the limit. Excluding the Everton award, the three-year loss would be £105.4 million, just over the threshold before any deductions, so we see no PSR issue.
EFL Squad Cost Rules: The squad cost limit will be tight
Relegation moves Burnley under EFL rules, and from 2026/27 Championship clubs are measured against a new squad cost limit, replacing the previous loss-based rules.
Squad costs, which are player and head coach pay plus agents' fees, may not exceed 85% of relevant turnover, plus 85% of net player trading and any permitted owner equity. Loans from owners do not count. A breach can bring a registration embargo and, potentially, a points deduction, with no fixed tariff.
This is a tight test for Burnley. Salaries and wages were 85% of turnover in 2025/26 and 115% in 2024/25, and bringing costs down from a Premier League wage base is hard. Our estimate assumes wages return to around £85 million, close to the 2024/25 Championship level, on turnover of around £75 million including parachute payments. Assuming player and manager wage costs are 75% of the total), that puts the squad cost ratio at around 87%, slightly above the 85% limit.
That estimate is uncertain. Net player trading is measured on cash paid and received between May and April, which does not line up with the 31 July year end, and the timing of instalments on recent signings and sales is not disclosed. On our central assumption trading has little effect, but it could move the ratio by around ten points either way. No new equity has been put into the club since the year end, so the owners' funding, which can count toward the limit, has not yet been used to close any gap.
Player Trading
Burnley spent heavily in summer 2025, committing an estimated £114 million to 13 signings as the club prepared for a second Premier League season. Lesley Ugochukwu (£25 million) and Armando Broja (£20 million) led the list, both from Chelsea, followed by Bashir Humphreys, Loum Tchaouna, Quilindschy Hartman, Marcus Edwards and Jaidon Anthony, who each cost £8 million or more.
Because the club's year ends on 31 July, that spend straddles two sets of accounts. Deals completed in July 2025 fall into 2024/25, where the accounts suggest around £50 million of additions. The Ugochukwu and Broja deals appear to have been completed after the year end, along with Florentino, who joined on loan and was bought permanently for around £21 million.
Sales follow the same pattern. Trafford's £31 million move to Manchester City in July 2025 belongs to the previous year, while 2025/26 proceeds of around £63 million came largely from July 2026 sales of Estève, Tchaouna, Anthony and Koleosho. Further departures followed after the year end, with the accounts noting £34.1 million of initial proceeds against £11.9 million spent on new players.
Florentino is the one deal likely to cost the club. Bought for around £21 million after his loan, he was sold to Ipswich Town for a reported £16 million within weeks.
Squad Market Value: Little unrealised profit in the squad
After allowing for the sales completed before the year end and the late arrivals, we estimate the squad's market value at around £156 million, based on Transfermarkt valuations. That is only about £38 million above its net book value, which suggests there is little unrealised profit left in the squad.
The most valuable players are Lesley Ugochukwu (£19 million) and Florentino (£14 million), followed by Quilindschy Hartman, Hannibal, Zian Flemming and Bashir Humphreys at £10 million to £13 million each. Ugochukwu and Hartman were loaned out in July, and Florentino and Flemming were sold after the year end. The squad is then thin on value, with no one else above £7 million.
Net Assets
The stadium is owned by the club
Unlike some Premier League clubs, Burnley own their ground. Turf Moor and the Gawthorpe training ground were sold in 2006 to ease the club's debts, but were later bought back, and they are now held within the group. The group's tangible fixed assets were £35.3 million at 31 July 2026, up from £34.3 million, including £19.1 million of freehold land and buildings and £12.0 million of leasehold improvements.
Spending on fixed assets was modest at £4.0 million in 2025/26. No major redevelopment of Turf Moor has been announced, and capital spending is likely to stay limited while the club is back in the Championship.
Net Assets remain positive - just
Net assets fell to £16.6 million at 31 July 2026 from £25.6 million, a decline of £9.0 million that matches the year's loss. The position is thin: profit and loss reserves are now just £0.6 million, and net assets include the £38.8 million Everton award, which is under appeal. Without it, the club would have been in a net liability position of about £22 million.
The biggest shift was the parent loan. The amount owed to the club by its parent, Velocity Capital, fell from £81.0 million to £3.3 million, which shrank total assets and is covered in the debt section below, along with a reduction in third-party borrowing. Player registrations remain the main asset, with a book value of £118.1 million, down from £128.8 million as amortisation outweighed new signings. Cash rose to £23.3 million from £12.9 million.
Liabilities are heavily weighted to the short term. Creditors due within a year were £200.4 million against current assets of £92.6 million, leaving net current liabilities of £107.9 million, compared with £83.7 million a year earlier. A further £71.4 million is due after more than a year.
Football Net Debt
Borrowings reduced by the parent's repayment
Burnley roughly halved their debt in 2025/26. Borrowings fell to £86.2 million from £142.4 million, and cash rose to £23.3 million from £12.9 million, taking debt to £62.9 million from £129.5 million.
The reduction however was funded by the repayment of an outstanding loan to the parent company. £81.0 million was owed to the club by Velocity Capital which arose from the 2020 takeover, when cash from Burnley was paid up to the new owners to help fund the purchase. In other words the acquirer used the money in the club to buy it.
Velocity repaid a net £77.7 million of the loan in 2025/26, leaving £3.3 million outstanding. The club used this cash to repay about £56 million of external borrowings, including £35.2 million of bank loans and £20.9 million of factored transfer receivables.
What remains is expensive. Bank loans of £70.1 million carry fixed rates of between 7.25% and 12%, and £16.1 million of factored receivables, secured on transfer fees due, costs 12.75%. Both are secured on the group's assets, and interest paid still came to £23.2 million in the year. Most of the debt is short term, with £77.9 million due within a year.
Trading Debt
Amounts owed to other clubs rose to £121.2 million from £94.5 million, of which £61.3 million is due within a year, while amounts due from clubs rose more modestly to £91.5 million from £85.8 million, with £50.7 million due within a year. That widens the net amount owed on transfers to £29.7 million from £8.8 million, which is consistent with the heavy spending on signings in the year, offset by a run of sales completed in July.
Part of the debts are long dated, with £56.1 million payable and £40.7 million receivable after more than a year. Part of the receivable is already financed, as £16.1 million of it has been factored, down from £37.0 million.
Cash Flow
Burnley's cash rose to £23.3 million in 2025/26 from £12.9 million, but only because the parent repaid its loan.
Operations continue to consume cash
Operations absorbed £20.0 million, an outflow in every one of the last five years. Player trading was neutral, with £62.0 million spent on registrations and £62.0 million received from sales, and a further £4.0 million went on fixed assets. The £77.7 million net repayment from Velocity Capital then funded the repayment of £56.2 million of bank loans and factored receivables, and left cash £10.4 million higher.
Over five years the pattern is clear. Operations have consumed £80 million, with outflows rising each year from £11.9 million in 2021/22 to £20.0 million. Player trading has absorbed a net £66 million, with £256 million spent on signings against £190 million of sales, and fixed assets another £18 million. The club funded this with borrowing of around £142 million over the period, most of it in the Championship years.
Without the parent repayment, 2025/26 cash would have fallen by around £67 million, which shows how much the club still depends on external funding.
Reporting Entity
This analysis is based on the audited consolidated accounts of Burnley FC Holdings Limited, a private company, for the period 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026. The group includes the football club and its subsidiaries.
The company's immediate parent is Velocity Capital (UK) Holdings Ltd, and the ultimate parent is ALK Capital LLC, a US company led by Alan Pace, who is considered the ultimate controlling party. ALK Capital does not prepare consolidated accounts, so the finances of the wider ownership structure, including how the 2020 takeover was funded, are not visible in these figures.
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