Grimsby Town have released accounts for the year ending May 2022.
Season review, what a season!
Writing this piece in retrospect, it’s hard to believe the story of our wonderful 2021-22 season! After starting incredibly well our season was off to a flying start as we reached mid-October. Wealdstone away marked the start of a difficult time, with only one win in seven league games before Christmas. Things picked up at the end of January, when again we played Wealdstone, this time at home and we finished the season in a play-off position, 6th in the table meaning we had a battle on our hands if we wanted to follow National League winners Stockport County back to League Two.
Our play-off campaign should go down in football’s history books. First of all, we made our way to Meadow Lane on 23 May and as we moved into the final minutes of the game it looked like our play-off hopes and dreams would end there. Not so, thanks to an extra-time goal from Gavan Holohan and a 119th-minute extra-time winner from Emmanuel Dieseruvwe.
The Racecourse beckoned but no-one could have imagined how that game would play out on 28 May 2022. If you haven’t watched the game then you should. It’s fair to say it was another thriller and again our winning goal came in the 119th minute, this time to a super Luke Waterfall header. The game finished 5-4 to the Mariners. We were off to the final.
Not content with winning games in 90 minutes we took the final into extra time at the London Stadium on 5 June 2022. About 16,000 Grimsby Town supporters made their way to the London Stadium on Jubilee Weekend, a game that also made the headlines thanks to the wonderful generosity of GTFC (and some Wrexham and other club’s very generous supporters) donating over £20,000 to a campaign to get fans who couldn’t afford the high ticket prices to the game. Vanarama also pitched in and thanks to the wonderful behind-the-scenes efforts of our Mariners Trust, we got as many people there as possible. Our winning goal against Solihull Moors came in the 111th minute, thanks to a legendary Jordan Cropper throw in and a Jordan Maguire-Drew finish to see us promoted, winning the game 2-1.
The celebrations, the fans’ jubilations and the open-top bus tour which was quickly organised in the town can now be added to the GTFC history books. We were back in the English Football League at the first time of asking thanks to the efforts of Paul Hurst, Chris Doig, the players and staff.
Behind the scenes, things were also improving. Debbie Cook, our new CEO, had been appointed at the start of the season and she started a period of transformation behind the scenes. During the season amongst many initiatives, we launched a new Club website and the first-ever brand guidelines for the Club. We also launched a new Club Shop website – Mariners Direct. The company became a Real Living Wage Employer.
At the start of the year, we made it clear that we wanted this football club to be the beating heart of the Town and its community. So many events took place at the Club, over 1000 tickets were given away to schools and community groups to facilitate this. Our aim was to make the football club a source of aspiration across the town and its surrounding area.
Financial review
Turnover
Turnover increased by over 26% due to the return of fans to the ground following the Covid-19 global pandemic and a successful season on the pitch. Matchday receipts increased to £1.4 million compared to £0.68 million in 2021 and there was an increase in revenue from commercial and hospitality activities. This was offset against the higher receipts generated in the previous year by live streaming and additional EFL funding.
Due to the prior year’s relegation, income from sources such as the Premier League, EFL and National League (collectively called Central Distributions in the accounts) reduced from £1.5 million to £0.72 million.
The successful promotion campaign and income from transfer activity generated more football fortune revenue which increased from £0.26 million to £0.43 million. This included revenue from the transfers of Ben Grist to Leicester City and the sell-on clause for Siriki Dembele.
Overheads, costs and expenses
As fans returned to Blundell Park, matchday costs, such as policing and health and safety, also increased.
Wage costs increased during the period to £3 million from £2.8 million.
During the year the club invested in infrastructure at Blundell Park and the Cheapside training ground. Examples include pitch improvements (including an enhanced sprinkler system at Blundell Park) and new gym equipment and building at the training ground. A new glass barrier was installed in the Upper Youngs stand to improve the supporters’ views. There remains a significant level of work still to be done at Blundell Park and the Directors have identified a plan for making improvements over the forthcoming seasons.
Overheads increased in the year partly due to additional expenditure on the academy as we came resumed full operations following the Covid-19 pandemic and invested in first team items aimed at increasing performance.
Loans and funding
The new owners invested £1.5 million of loans into the company during the year. Some of this funding was used to repay debt in the form of loans from previous principal shareholder and the balance was used to fund improving operations and infrastructure of the club. The balance of other loans from the previous principal shareholder has been fully repaid since year end.
In addition to funds introduced by the new owners’ cash reserves in the company at 1 June 2021 were also used to fund day to day operations.
The board was overwhelmed by the levels of fan support. Even after a drop to the Vanarama National League, attendances rose to that of pre-pandemic levels and the average home attendance was highest in nearly 20 years.
Season tickets for the 2022/23 season has also surpassed expectations and the positive attendance trend has continued.
Supporters can view the annual financial statements by clicking here.
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