Norwich City: Canaries annual accounts for 2023/24 released

The Canaries officially published their annual report on Friday morning with the numbers presenting the realities of the club's financial position outside of the top flight and in the final campaign of parachute payments following relegation from the Premier League in 2022. 

It represents a further shift in funding, with Attanasio's group increasing their financial input into the club to help retain a sound footing amid another year of Championship football. 

City reported a £2.5m drop in revenue compared to the 2022/23 report, from £75.6m to £73.1m. The drop was aided in part by a prolonged FA Cup run that included a televised fourth-round tie against Liverpool, as well as growth in ticketing, sponsorship, and advertising income. 

However, that further decrease speaks to spending another campaign in the second tier post-relegation and the process of beginning to prepare for life post-parachute payments, which ended at the conclusion of this report. 

Attanasio-led Norfolk FB Holdings provided the club with its key source of funding, with loans totalling £58.6m as of 30 June 2024. Recent shareholder letters also revealed a further £8m in cashflow funding post-year-end, some of which contributed to their summer transfer window. 

Excluding player trading, Norwich's operating loss and profit was down from a loss of 1.5m in the previous financial year to 0.6m. 

The club have produced cash flow forecasts through to the end of the 2025/26 campaign based on City remaining in the Championship. That acknowledges the need for further player trading and external investment as they work towards on-pitch improvement. 

City generated £13.4m in profit from player sales - namely from the departures of academy prospects Max Aarons, who joined Bournemouth, Andrew Omobamidele who was sold on deadline day to Nottingham Forest and Milot Rashica, who joined Besiktas. That sum enabled the club to reduce their operating loss to £7m. 

The sales of Gabriel Sara, Abu Kamara, Adam Idah, Christos Tzolis and Jonathan Rowe are not included in this year's accounts. 

Max Aarons departure to join Bournemouth is included in this year's accounts. (Image: Daniel Hambury/Focus Images Ltd) The money injected by Attanasio's led group was received as debt, meaning the club's interest cost rose from £6.8m in 2023 to £8.6m in this year's accounts. That, in total, means City recorded a total comprehensive loss for the year of £14.4m - down from £27.3m. 

Despite increased interest levels, these are not expected to be cashed in by Attanasio's Norfolk FB Holdings. 

Norwich has recorded an improved balance sheet following two years of successive loss-generating periods. The club's net liability position has increased to £31m from £22.3m in 2022/23, meaning City now owns more assets than it owes.

City are expecting further improvement of their balance sheet following the aforementioned sales alongside the conversion of the debt owed to Attanasio's group into shares ahead of the American-based becoming majority shareholders. 

Overall cashflow has reduced by 500k over the last 12 months owing to a reduction in external facilities that attract interest. The net cash generated from financing activities of £3.7m is a result of extensive changes to the club’s debt financing, with the repayment of facilities secured against player and central receivables and refinancing with Attanasio's Norfolk FB Holdings group.

Over the past 12 months, City paid £7.6m to other clubs for previous incoming transfers and received £14.1m for those who were sold in previous windows. 

£4.8m was spent improving infrastructure at the club's Colney training base, most notably the installation of the recovery hub, which includes hot and cold plunge pools, a swimming pool, and an underwater treadmill.

Mark Attanasio's group are giving City a more solid financial foundation. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) Other Carrow Road and Colney improvements, including the introduction of safe standing, are also accounted for in this year's report. 

City has recorded a four percent drop in total wage costs as a percent of turnover—down to 71pc from 75pc a year earlier. That figure is expected to drop again in the next set of accounts, owing to the realities of a further year from the Championship but also speaks to the football strategy being implemented at the club.

The wage bill dropped from £48m to £44.9m over the past 12 months. Other employment costs, including loan players, fell from £2.2m to £1m. 

A total of 10 new player registrations were made - Ashley Barnes, Danny Batth, Shane Duffy, Christian Fassnacht, Kellen Fisher, Adam Forshaw, George Long, Borja Sainz, Jack Stacey and Jose Cordoba, the only summer signing made before the end of the accounting period. 

Over the past 12 months, City have seen their average league attendance drop from 26,131 to 26,104 as well as a near 800 drop in season tickets from 20,835 to 20,020. 

The accounts show that Norwich are owed a guarantee of £30.1m from the sales of Sara, Kamara, Idah and Christos Tzolis, including the season-long that took Rowe to Marseille. That figure is the baseline of guaranteed payments and doesn't include add-ons nor bonuses.

Rowe's loan to Marseille, for example, doesn't include the figure that will see that deal become permanent next summer for a fee of £14m or the guaranteed add-ons City will accrue for Sara in the deal that took him to Galatasaray. 

City have committed £17.3m on Ben Chrisene, Ante Crnac, Amankwah Forson and Oscar Schwartau. That figure include the loan fees of Callum Doyle, Kaide Gordon and Anis Ben Slimane. Further payments of £5.8m could be due dependant on club and/or player performance. 

This set of accounts documents a period of significant change for the Canaries, both off the pitch in terms of ownership structure but also of personnel in key operating positions. 

Ben Knapper succeeded Stuart Webber as sporting director after an extensive recruitment process aided by Nolan Partners.

David Wagner was dismissed as head coach after a sixth placed finish and play-off semi final drubbing by Leeds United - it's understood his severance package will be paid over 12 months rather than in one lump sum and is included in the accounts. 

Johannes Hoff Thorup was named as City's new boss in May, bringing assistant Glen Riddersholm from Denmark as his assistant. The coaching team has also seen changes after Narcis Pelach and Paul Clements departed to Stoke. 

Later this month, City's shareholders will vote on a motion that will pave the way for Attanasio's group to gain majority control of the club. These accounts display the growing importance of an external investment as the Canaries spell outside of the Premier League prolongs. 

- The 2023/24 annual report can be read in full by clicking here