Champions League Helps Boost Tottenham Hotspur's Financial Position

Yesterday, Tottenham Hotspur announced their financial interim results for the 6 month period ending on December 31. You can read the full report here. Basically Spurs are doing really well. The club increased revenue by 49% over the same period last year. Additionally, the Spurs had a profit of £4.6 million as opposed to a loss of £6.1 million that they saw last year. This is certainly an excellent sign considering that operating expenses rose by nearly £13 million due to our large squad size.

It's pretty clear that this increased revenue and profit can be tied directly to Spurs European campaign. For the previous year, in which Tottenham didn't compete in Europe at all, Spurs earned £1.9 million in gate receipts and cup competition income. This year, despite an early exit from the Carling Cup, that figure has risen to £20.3 million. Merchandise sales also benefited from the Champions League campaign and rose 22%.

Both television revenue and gate receipts for premier league matches remained consistent, both showing slight increases. Sponsorship and Hospitality revenue increased 27% due to the club's new split sponsorship agreements with Investec and Autonomy.

In a letter to the shareholders Daniel Levy also speaks about the squad itself and what the club is doing to improve the product on the field:

We have hosted one of the largest squads in the Premier League during this period. It is important to
create a healthy balance in any squad between competition for places and for players to play
consistently. Whilst this large squad eased our progress in the Champions League, we shall continue
to look to streamline our squad where appropriate.

Levy went on to talk about there being a relative lack of movement in the transfer market, something that all Tottenham fans are acutely aware of. Most of the transfer moves have been loans involving veteran players who weren't playing or young players who needed to get matches under their belt.

In the 6 month period ending December 31 the club also extended the contracts of Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Luka Modric and Kyle Walker. In addition the following Development Squad players were also given extensions: John Bostock, Nathan Byrne, Thomas Carroll, Steven Caulker, Jake Livermore, Jake Nicholson, Dean Parrett and Danny Rose and Academy players Ryan Fredericks and Harry Kane.

Finally, with regard to the club's off the pitch dealings, Tottenham continues to invest in improved facilities. The new training ground in Enfield is halfway completed and should be ready to open in the summer of 2012. The club is continuing to pursue the Northumberland Development Project and has hopes that they will be able to increase the feasibility of this project in the coming months.

Additionally, Levy has this to say about Tottehnam receiving a new stadium:

An increased capacity stadium is a vital element of the growth of the Club. Our waiting list for season
tickets is currently at 35,500, almost the capacity of our current stadium. Whilst a larger stadium will
result in greater revenue generation, it is arguably more important that we seek to accommodate the
next generation of supporters and thereby ensure the future long-term growth and success of our
Club.

So, there you have it. The club is in pretty good shape, which is going to be especially vital next season once the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations begin. The thing I am most pleased by is the extensions given to various players. Having players like Luka (and more recently Gareth Bale) sign extensions increases their value should we ever sell them. Additionally, the long list of youth players signed to extensions gives me a bit of hope that we could finally start to see some of youth players push for first team spots.

In case any of you had any doubt about how important the Champions League is to a club, this should make it pretty obvious. Put aside the simple increase in exposure and notoriety, and instead look at the cash. £20.3 million this season, and that's just revenue from the qualifiers and group stage. Tottenham has secured even more than that by reaching the quarterfinals.

I know we all hope that this Champions League revenue will provide Harry with huge budget this summer and it very well may, but I think the concentration needs to be making sure we get back to the Champions League and don't lose out on all this money. At present, Spurs trail Manchester City by 4 points and have a game in hand. Fourth place is certainly not out of reach, but our recent league form needs to turn around soon.

If you weren't already excited for these last two months (and if you weren't there's definitely something wrong with you) the pursuit of fourth place and the financial rewards that come with it should help pique your interest. Come on you Spurs!