Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has described West Bromwich Albion’s accounts as ‘scary’ despite the Championship club revealing reduced losses of £17m earlier this week.
On Wednesday, West Brom announced they had reduced their annual losses by almost half as the club continues to grapple with complying with the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules.
The latest accounts showed an operating loss of £17m for the year up to the end of June 2025, down from a loss of £31m in the previous 12 months.
Speaking exclusively to The Baggies News after analysing the accounts, Maguire described them as “quite scary” although stressed the fact that unfortunately this is often the case in the second tier.
He said: “Looking at the figures, they are quite scary in the sense that West Brom have an underlying loss of almost £30m.
“Through a combination of player sales – which, of course, comes with risks on the pitch, as we’ve seen this season – and interest on the MSD loan being re-charged to the parent company rather than the club, they have managed to offset some of that.
“That said, it’s not excessive by Championship standards. Everyone spends considerably more than they earn across the league.”
West Brom will still rely on player sales this summer – Kieran Maguire
The accounts show player sales of £8.2m which include Alex Palmer and Brandom Thomas-Asante. Sales of Tom Fellows, Caleb Taylor and Torbjorn Heggem will be reflected in next year’s accounts while Albion spent £5.4m on players.
The club was also compensated to the tune of £2.55m by Valencia following the departure of Carlos Corberan on Chirstmas Eve 2024.
The club is moving in the right direction financially, albeit not so much on the pitch, Shilen Patel and West Bromwich Albion Football Group Limited deserve credit but they’re not out of the woods yet, as Maguire warned.
He said: “The manager left last season and they got £2.5m compensation there. They also got a £5m adjustment for what was essentially a paper movement of interest costs on the loan. Yes, player sale profits were better, but even so, it’s quite scary that we’re talking about an £18m loss as being good.
“In terms of PSR, I expect them to have some flexibility. They do, however, need to emphasise player trading.
“Shilen Patel seems keen to invest. But by his own admission, it’s such a tough, tough division and business to familiarise yourself with.”
West Brom accounts – key figures
- Revenue: £30m – up 8%
- Wages: £37m – down 14%
- Wages equal 122% of revenue – down 30%
- Underlying loss: 32M – down 16%
- Pre-tax losses: £19m – down 50%
- Borrowings: £53m
- Total squad cost: £40m
READ MORE: I’ve watched West Brom sleepwalk into Championship relegation fight
West Brom are understood to be supportive of the implementation of a Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) model in the Championship.
The EFL are currently in discussion to introduce the model that caps spending on player and manager wages as well as transfer and agent fees at a percentage of the club’s revenue.
The model was recently approved for the Premier League for next season, with discussions underway to implement it in the second tier.