Saints announce annual financial results for 2023/24

Northampton Saints plc has today announced its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2024.

• Saints crowned Gallagher Premiership champions in 2023/24 season.
• Club achieved turnover of £21.9m in 2023/24 – underlying revenue growth of £2.3m (+12%) from 2022/23.
• Underlying trading loss also showed a £1.8m improvement from 2022/23.
• Record ticketing revenue of £5.8m (from £4.5m in 2022/23), boosted by hosting several knock-out fixtures.
• Commercial income improvement of £0.9m (+9.5%) to £10.4m.
• Club maintains a strong balance sheet with £20.0m net assets.

“The 2023/24 season will go down in history as the year we were crowned as champions of England for the second time,” said John White, Northampton Saints Chairman.

“Whilst it is undeniable that our sport continues to face some significant financial challenges, Saints have strengthened our position this year, and the board and I are optimistic about the future of the Club – both on and off the pitch.

“One thing we often talk about at Saints is the virtuous circle between commercial and on-pitch performance. When one performs well, it helps the other to do the same, and we certainly saw this throughout the 2023/24 season. Reaching the latter stages of the Premiership and Champions Cup, and therefore hosting a number of additional knock-out matches at cinch Stadium, generated vital revenue for Saints over the final few months of the season as well as some exciting games.

“We played fantastic rugby all the way through the year which people wanted to come and watch, and our matchday experience feedback scores continued to rise – meaning we were consistently sending our visitors home with smiles on their faces. We completely sold out five of our six home Premiership matches after the turn of the year, and the incredible atmosphere around the stadium created a brilliant performance impact for the team.

“Thanks to this strong commercial performance, the Club reported a turnover of £21.9m – just shy of our highest-ever turnover of £22.0m, reported the previous year. While this appears to suggest revenue was down slightly year-on-year, due to the accounting treatment of CVC income of £2.4m in the prior year, it actually masks a very encouraging underlying revenue growth of £2.3m (+12%). Similarly, while the accounts show an increased loss before tax of £1.7m (£1.1m in 2022/23), the previous year’s result was also impacted by reporting the CVC income, and so in fact our underlying year-on-year improvement was £1.8m.

“The Club continues to have a strong balance sheet with net assets of £20.0m at 30 June 2024, and our long-term strategy remains unchanged – we aim to grow our revenue, carefully manage our cost base, deliver unmissable experiences and events, and continue to develop cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens as a world-class multi-purpose venue.

“We will need the backing of our loyal supporters and incredible partners as we strive to become a cash-generative business. We still have a long road ahead, but are proud of our efforts so far and have a clear financial plan to return the Club to a sustainable footing over the next five years.”

CLICK HERE to view Northampton Saints’ Annual Report for 2023/24.