Fulham’s losses for the last financial year have gone up by £10 million after it was announced the west London club lost £16.9m last year.
Despite reaching the Europa League final last season the club’s losses have been published by Companies House, with the expense of hosting extra games and player-trading costs being the chief reasons for the increase in losses.
Boosted by their European run, the club’s sales increased to a record £77.1m in the year to June 30, a climb of 15 per cent. The Europa League run itself contributed £12.5m.
The London team beat clubs including Juventus, Hamburg and defending champion Shakhtar Donetsk before losing to Atletico Madrid in its first European final. Egyptian businessman Al- Fayed sold London department store Harrods to the Qatar royal family for 1.5 billion pounds last year.
Despite the losses announced Fulham’s owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed, has insisted that he remains committed to the club in the long term.
Al-Fayed said in a statement accompanying the accounts: “As is evident, I remain committed to making investment funds available to achieve our goals both on and off the pitch.
“The continued success of Fulham and its eventual financial self-sustainability is my priority.”
Al-Fayed, 78, has been in charge of Fulham since 1997, taking it from the third tier to the Premier League within four years and his club have now been in the Premier League for 10 consecutive seasons. He has already loaned more than £160m to the club in an unsecured, interest-free basis.
The accounts also suggested that Al-Fayed had provided “written indications” of continued funding for the team. He’s already loaned more than 160 million pounds to the team on an unsecured, interest-free basis, and is one of several Premier League club owners who support clubs with their own funds.
