‘I’ve looked at the books and there’s more to £200m Brighton spend than meets the eye’
Brighton have got a new development in the works which has contributed to a loss in their 2024-25 financial accounts.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who has also revealed that Brighton have spent over £200million on player trading.
Brighton director Paul Barber took a pay cut, as the Seagulls recorded a pre-tax loss of £55.8m last season.
Tony Bloom has been praised for his ownership of Brighton, who currently sit 12th in the Premier League table under the management of Fabian Hurzeler.
Brighton ‘producing revenue for the future’
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes Brighton are continuing to build for the future.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness states the club’s losses would not be so big if it wasn’t for a new development.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “It was interesting because this is a club that’s been showing profit after profit and actually had, I think, the Premier League record of profit numbers at one stage a couple of seasons ago.
“When I looked at the books, what I saw was a couple of things. I saw there’s another development they’ve got. I think it’s called Monks Farm, and is a project they’ve got going. And if you took that off, the losses aren’t quite as big.
“They’re putting money into things there, which is residential and training. So there’s something there that is for the future. They’ve also invested a fair amount of money into things that are going to be more revenue producing for the future.
“So there’s been investment but no more so than in the squad. I mean, there’s been about £200million of player deals that have been done as investment in Brighton.”
Fabian Hurzeler update emerges
Brighton could be faced with the departure of Hurzeler following developments at Premier League rivals Tottenham.
Spurs could make an approach for Hurzeler to become their next manager, with pressure mounting on Thomas Frank.
The 32-year-old is in his second season at Brighton, having led them to an eighth placed finish in his debut campaign.