Five insights from Wrexham’s record financial results

Wrexham have reported record financial results that show they brought in more money as a League Two club than many Championship sides.

The north Wales club – now in League One – confirmed their revenue for their first year back in the English Football League (EFL) was £26.7m.

The figure underlines the impact of the ownership of A-list pair Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and their growing profile.

The full details have been released as Wrexham publish their accounts for the 2023-24 season, which saw the club make a £2.7m loss.

In a report from directors, Wrexham said: “The goal of the new owners is to grow the team and establish Wrexham AFC as a Premier League club in front of increased attendances, and in an improved stadium, while making a positive difference to the wider community in Wrexham”.

Four years ago, before the club’s Hollywood takeover, Wrexham’s non-league revenue was recorded at £1.148m.

The annual turnover has exploded year on year, now rising 155% from last year’s £10.5m to the £26.7m for the season in which they won promotion from League Two at the first attempt. The club believe this is a record for a League Two side.

To put it into context, Deloitte’s most recent annual review of football finance has the League Two average at £5.4m, while Championship clubs – other than those receiving parachute payments – are at £22m.

But it is not unexpected.

Given Wrexham’s global profile, association with huge brands and a stadium naming-rights deal saw commercial revenue boom to £13.18m.

What is not included is revenue from the ‘ Welcome to Wrexham ‘ documentary that has made stars of the club and players such as Paul Mullin.

That is because the club do not actually earn money directly from the show, which airs on both sides of the Atlantic and sees cameras follow Wrexham’s fortunes from the inside.

But its indirect impact is obvious, with the club now seeing more revenue generated from outside the United Kingdom than on these shores.

Wrexham’s story – and shirts – hitting the screens of non-football fans and untapped markets helps explain why they have attracted the sponsorship agreements they have.

Outgoings for the year ending June 2024 include payments to the companies owned by Reynolds and McElhenney for the work done in making the most of the Stateside opportunities and nailing those big commercial deals.

In their accounts, Wrexham said this “significantly assisted us to achieve our record turnover”.

As with any club, the biggest outgoing was wages – of £11m – which explains why Wrexham still posted a loss of £2.72m, albeit one that is down on last year’s £5.11m.

That is despite the wage bill jumping up 59% to a level well above any other side in League Two.

There was also a rise in staff levels, including the semi-pro women’s team in the top-flight Adran Premier as well an increase in off-the-field employees.

And there was a £0.82m payment on promotion bonuses plus work to improve the stadium, including the installation of a new temporary stand.

The loss is still way down on the average yearly loss for a Championship club of around £20m.

Wrexham have long been keen not to pin all their ambitions on a documentary and the financial rewards that follow.

And the accounts show that as much as the club have benefited from the backing of their celebrity owners, they are not really being bankrolled by them.

According to the strategic financial report accompanying the accounts, a key event after the financial year end was the repayment of loans from Reynolds and McElhenney, that had grown to £15m.

The money was partly tied into funds provided to purchase the lease of the Stok Racecourse in order to develop and expand.

With work on a new Kop stand potentially beginning at the end of the season, further expansion has already been talked about as a way of increasing local revenue streams.

There have been no further charges lodged at Companies House since, meaning the club are loan-free.

There has, though, been investment from the New York-based Allyn family, who have been introduced as minority shareholders.

As well as the stadium, there are plans to develop a training ground and for expansion of facilities for the academy and women’s side.

With a month of the season to go, Wrexham are still on course for an unprecedented third successive promotion – and could be playing Championship football in four months ‘ time.

Next year’s accounts will take in this campaign, during which the club’s transfer record has been broken on a number of occasions and the wage bill has inevitably risen.

But reaching the second tier for only the second time in the club’s history would mean access to even more revenues.

Just becoming part of the Championship would see a boost to TV payments, while sponsorship deals would expect to be even more prized.

Wrexham have this season made key office appointments that should drive further commercial opportunities.

And there is no sign of the global interest waning, with McElhenney being vocal about wanting to improve the ability to sell Wrexham shirts in the USA given that the club have had more matches screened in the States than any other EFL side.

The Championship would of course mean far greater outgoings, especially with the work on the Kop to limit capacity for a year.