Evening Telegraph (First Edition)

Hibs pay for early cup exits with loss of £3.9m

HIBERNIAN admitted they fell short of their goals after their latest accounts showed a loss of £3.9 million for the year up to June 2023.

That figure represents a rise of £2.4m on the £1.5m loss for 2022, which the cinch Premiershi­p club attributed partly to the lack of European football last season and the fact they exited both domestic cup competitio­ns at the first hurdle under Lee Johnson.

Wages-to-turnover ratio rose to 81% from 71%, with staff costs up from £8.5m the previous year to £10.1m.

Hibs said this was down to increased investment in the team last term after finishing eighth in the table the previous season while sacking two managers, Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney.

The financial picture was made slightly brighter by the sales of Josh Doig to Verona in July 2022 and Kevin Nisbet to Millwall in June 2023, while Hibs will benefit from a sell-on fee following Doig’s move to Sassuolo last month.

The club also holds a sell-on agreement with Millwall over Nisbet and with Watford, who purchased Ryan Porteous for a nominal amount in January 2023.

Hibs’ predicamen­t looks likely to improve, with an estimated £6m investment from American billionair­e Bill Foley, the owner of Bournemout­h, expected to get the green light from shareholde­rs at the club’s AGM later this month.

The Edinburgh club expect their next accounts to show them in better health.

“The financial results for the previous year fall short of our goals and show the impact of the lack of sporting success in cups and no European football,” read Hibs’ strategic report.

“For the current year, the club has performed much better, having reached the play-off stages of the European Conference League, a cup semi-final and further growth from a commercial perspectiv­e.

“Based on that, the club expects to have recordbrea­king revenue for the year ending 30 June 2024.”