West Ham’s 2024-25 accounts reveal record £104.2m pre-tax loss as liquidity fears grow

West Ham United have posted the worst financial result in their 129-year history, swinging from a £57.2 million pre-tax profit in 2023-24 to a £104.2 million loss in the year ending May 2025, accounts released on Friday show.

The collapse is driven largely by a £161 million year-on-year deterioration in player-trading profits. The £100 million sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal in July 2023 was not repeated, while the club still spent £132.6 million on new signings, pushing overall expenditure higher across every major category.

Revenue fell in all three key streams. Broadcast income dropped £34.6 million after the club missed European qualification and slid from ninth to 14th in the Premier League. Match-day receipts dipped 12 per cent to £39.3 million, reflecting the absence of Europa League fixtures at the 62,500-capacity London Stadium, where West Ham pay minimal rent yet generate only the eighth-highest gate receipts despite the league’s second-highest average attendance.

Operating performance before player sales swung from a £19.1 million surplus in 2021-22 to a £104.8 million deficit. Wages rose for the sixth consecutive campaign, reaching £175.9 million and equating to 77 per cent of turnover, up from 54 per cent three years ago. The tenth-largest wage bill delivered a 14th-place finish; this season the team sit third from bottom, two points adrift of safety.

Cash reserves evaporated from £33.1 million to under £0.5 million, forcing the club to take a £20 million overdraft and a £124 million five-year term loan with Rights and Media Funding Limited, the lender that previously supported Everton. An additional £12 million was secured by accelerating transfer receivables at a cost of £700,000. Total external debt now exceeds £120 million, ranking West Ham fourth in the Premier League behind Tottenham, Manchester United and Everton.

Net transfer outgo across the last four seasons stands at £292 million, including £88.7 million last year alone. The club still owed £178.6 million in outstanding transfer fees at 31 May, up 41 per cent year-on-year, while day-to-day operations generated less than £1 million cash.

Directors warn of a “liquidity shortfall” in summer 2026 and confirm that player sales will be required even if relegation is avoided. The January departure of Lucas Paquetá to Flamengo for £36.5 million occurred after the accounts were signed and may mitigate some pressure, though further exits—potentially involving Jarrod Bowen, Mateus Fernandes or El Hadji Malick Diouf—are anticipated if the club drop into the Championship.

West Ham have not received fresh equity since Daniel Kretinský’s 1890 holdings a.s. invested £123.6 million for a 27 per cent stake in November 2021. With profitability rules allowing up to £105 million in aggregate losses over three seasons, the club remain within Premier League limits, but only after benefiting from the division’s higher loss threshold available to teams demonstrating sufficient owner funding capacity.

The stark numbers underline a widening gap between spending and performance: a £481 million squad cost, comparable to Bayern Munich’s, now fights relegation. Survival, already critical on sporting grounds, has become a financial imperative.