Leicester lost £71.1m in Premier League relegation season

Leicester City made a pre-tax loss of £71.1m in their solitary season back in the Premier League in 2024-25.

It takes the club's financial losses over the three-year period when they yo-yoed between the top flight and Championship to more than £180m.

And while the sum is almost £100m over permitted losses of £83m under profit and sustainability (PSR) rules, the club is understood to be confident of avoiding any breaches when add-backs - things such as the club's investment in infrastructure, women's football and youth development - are factored in.

With Leicester being deducted six points this season for past overspending, the magnitude of the Foxes' losses in the 12 months up to June 2025 will undoubtedly come under scrutiny.

The amount of money lost in recent years and the two relegations in three seasons that have dropped Leicester back into the Championship - where they are now battling to avoid tumbling into League One - have been the source of growing discontent among the Foxes' fanbase.

Leicester's chief executive Kevin Davies says "improving" the club's financial position "remains a priority and will continue to shape the decisions we take as a club".

"We know supporters want to see Leicester City run responsibly, with the right balance between giving us the best chance of success on the pitch and building greater financial stability for the future," he told the club website, external.

"These financial statements show there is still more work to do and we are clear about that."

Leicester have been locked in legal battles relating to their spending for a number of years now.

They wrangled themselves out of trouble when they last dropped into the Championship in 2023-24 but the cumulative losses of more than £201m they made in the years between 2022 and 2024 eventually saw them punished this season.

In that three-year period, covering two campaigns in the Premier League and one in the Championship, they were eventually found to have breached the allowable PSR threshold of £83m by £20.8m when add-backs were factored in.

The latest three-year snapshot concerning PSR also relates to two top-flight campaigns and one in the second tier.

This time they have cumulatively haemorrhaged £180m, which includes the adjusted £89.5m loss when relegated from the Premier League in 2023 and the £19.4m loss when they won promotion as Championship title-winners in 2024.

It is that reduction on previous losses in the Premier League that improves the Foxes' outlook when it comes to spending rules, even if their bottom line looks grim.

The money lost remains something that the club's owners are willing to absorb, even at a time when the King Power duty-free business in Thailand, which has been intrinsically linked to the club since the Srivaddhanaprabha family bought the Foxes in 2010, has faced financial difficulties in recent years.

It was in January last year that King Power and owner Khun Aiyawatt 'Top' Srivaddhanaprabha wiped out £124m of the club's debt, external.

The owner also provided a cash injection of £14.3m in 2024-25.

The pre-tax loss of £71.1m, which was an increase of almost £52m on the previous 12 months, is the inescapable headline in a financial report that shows the club's revenues also increased to £186.5m from the £105.3m generated the previous year.

Money brought in from broadcasters more than doubled to £117.4m, there was a £15.8m rise in sponsorship income and gate receipts totalled £20.3m, up from £18.4m.

Leicester brought in only £10m in player transfers in 2024-25, from the sale of Tom Cannon to Sheffield United, which was a huge decrease on what they generated in 2023-24.

A number of lucrative player sales, which included the departure of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea for £30m, as well as the £10m compensation the club received when manager Enzo Maresca was also recruited by the London club, helped generate £93m in 2023-24.

At the same time, Leicester's wages jumped up by almost £46m on their return to the Premier League. Although, as a percentage, that made up 82% of their revenue in 2024-25 when compared to 102% in 2023-24.

In the 2022-23 season in the Premier League before that, their wage bill of £205.8m represented 116% of what they generated.

"These accounts reflect the reality of returning to the Premier League," CEO Davies said.

"Our revenues increased significantly during the year but so too did the costs of trying to compete at that level and the loss we are reporting is a substantial one."

The contract clauses that have allowed Leicester to reduce their salary costs after relegation are also believed to be in place if the Foxes go on to be relegated to League One this season.

Natalie Jackson, BBC East Midlands Today sports editor

There is no way to sugarcoat Leicester's City's predicament right now.

Who would have thought 10 years on from winning the Premier League the club would be fighting relegation from the Championship and have been docked six points for breaching financial rules.

The account statements for 2024-25 don't make easy reading. The top-line figure of the £71.1m loss is significant but was hugely affected by the lack of player sales - Dewsbury-Hall's £30m sale came in the 2023-24 accounts.

But one important thing to come from today's news is the owner's commitment to the club.

I understand whatever happens to King Power and the duty-free business, Khun Top himself will make sure the club is sustainable with his personal wealth.