Beardwood values Everton at £127m

, 11 May, 24comments  |  Jump to most recent

Everton failed to make the top 20 of Forbes's recently-published list of the world's most valuable football clubs so the Liverpool Echo discussed the club's valuation with financial expert Joe Beardwood.

The business magazine ranks the Blues' supposed peers like Tottenham Hotspur (13th with a valuation of $600million), Newcastle United (18th, $349million) and West Ham United (19th, $309million) all in the top 20 but Everton did not make the cut despite appearing in the Deloitte money league, which tallies revenue and not worth.

In the opinion of Beardwood, who gave a recent presentation to the Shareholders Association, however, the club would likely be a lot lower than people might expect given Everton's place in the Deloitte table.

“Given the guidelines used in this report I doubt that Everton would even be in the top 40," he said.

“Forbes are calculating the final figures by using a club's enterprise value which is your equity minus debt. An issue that Everton have in this respect is that they're in negative equity as they have more debt than their assets are worth.

“When taking all of this into account Everton would be worth around $206million and given that Forbes are using an exchange rate of $1 to 62 pence then that makes Everton Football Club worth around £127million - which for me feels about right.

“Goodison Park is probably worth around £6million to Everton because if it is not going to be used as a football stadium then it's going to be sold for properties or business and that would be a fair value for a piece of land that size in Walton.

“A new stadium would probably cost around £200million and you'd be looking to get a 5% yield from that.

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“It would cost around £10million per year to service the debt but how much extra revenue would you make from that?

“”I don't think that Everton need a new stadium. We fill 40,000 at the moment but we're not a corporate club.

“I'd agree that we'd need a new stadium if we were in London but I don't see any evidence that Everton could attract the likes of Vodafone or Microsoft into their ground to buy big boxes.

“Most of the people in the boxes at Everton are Liverpool businessmen who have made good."

Quotes sourced from Liverpool Echo



Reader Comments (24)

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James Stewart
1 Posted 11/05/2015 at 17:05:02
These lists are utter bollocks and anyone with any experience in business would just laugh at some of these valuations.
James Hughes
2 Posted 11/05/2015 at 17:10:34
"West Ham are ahead of Everton both in terms of commercial income, bringing in around $36million as opposed to their $22million while their operating income is also smaller at around $40million to their $54million."

So before anyone else ridicules this article, it states we EARN less from commercial income but SPEND more, hence we buy players from mid range not top end.

Points made here many times explained in black and white

Phil Walling
3 Posted 11/05/2015 at 17:15:59
James, your verdict on this piece marks you down as a financial shrewdy. So what IS the value of the Club? And donÂ’t tell me Â’any figure BK chooses to put on itÂ’, please!
Iain Love
4 Posted 11/05/2015 at 17:23:42
For me, it just points out the opportunities to increase our commercial business.

IÂ’m not a football shirt wearer (except when I actually play football) but I would like to wear Everton-related merchandise but find the choice that I have extremely limited (unless anyone knows differently, please please tell me). Even when I go into shops selling football-related gear, Everton stuff is few and far between. Is a decent fucking polo shirt or hoodie too much to ask?

Jackie Barry
5 Posted 11/05/2015 at 18:06:17
Just shows the disgraceful shambles that Bill Kenwright has turned us into.
Brian Hennessy
6 Posted 11/05/2015 at 18:45:23
"Most of the people in the boxes at Everton are Liverpool businessmen who have made good," — or bit-part washed-up actors still waiting for a full time role on Corrie...
Alan Williams
7 Posted 11/05/2015 at 20:01:30
If we didn’t charge so little as £95 and £450 for kids/adults tickets then we would have far more commercial balance. The problem is we want our cake and eat it; if we go the next level as well as the owners all fans would have to pay more that’s a certainty.

The report above shows all just how difficult it is to leverage debt against our club so, in some ways, we have it good; in others, we are lacking. EFC retail wins wouldnÂ’t bridge this gap; it's an easy sound bite that runs well with disgruntled fans, we need serious investment and thatÂ’s our problem. Blame who you like but it doesnÂ’t change the situation. Qatar is where our new owners will be from.

John Raftery
8 Posted 11/05/2015 at 20:01:47
The statement Â’I donÂ’t think that Everton need a new stadiumÂ’ is ridiculous. Tell that to the 4,000 people who buy tickets only to find themselves sitting behind a pillar.

We will never be a corporate club while we are unable to offer corporate facilities. Even West Brom have more boxes than we do. Sooner or late,r we will need a new stadium because the present one will eventually fail to meet the standards required by the Premier League and Uefa.

Lyndon Lloyd
9 Posted 11/05/2015 at 20:47:42
He doesnÂ’t say so (or at least isnÂ’t quoted as such), John, but I imagine Joe is suggesting that redeveloping Goodison is the alternative to going out and building a new stadium elsewhere.
Frank McGregor
10 Posted 11/05/2015 at 21:14:17
James (#1),

I totally agree with you having been in the business and dealing with these alleged experts in the field for over 20 years.

The biggest problem under these circumstances is trying to convince people who accept the information as gospel is not to be gullible and research for alternative data.

Christine Foster
11 Posted 11/05/2015 at 21:42:00
Interesting.. I wonder what the board value it at.. not even close....
John Raftery
12 Posted 11/05/2015 at 21:35:56
That could be the case, Lyndon, but from it's current state, Goodison needs a hell of a lot of redevelopment. Apart from the Park End the rest would need to be demolished. The cost of doing that coupled with the loss of revenue while the new stands were constructed would add to the financial burden.
Trevor Peers
13 Posted 11/05/2015 at 21:50:04
Would that be a figure BK will do business at? Or does he want much more than that, or does he just not want to sell at all. Nobody seems to have any idea at all. ItÂ’s a disgrace that he doesnÂ’t keep the fans informed at least once a year. We have no idea in which direction the club is heading.
James Stewart
14 Posted 11/05/2015 at 22:29:00
@3 I am no financial expert but I am no mug either. These kind of pieces really irritate me. The lack of data or any kind of evidence/references for some of these figures and stats being banded around is outrageous. For example:

"Goodison Park is probably worth around £6million to Everton."

"A new stadium would probably cost around £200million."

All I see there are the words Â’probably, around, doubt.Â’ Words every expert uses when he has a good grasp of the facts! NOT!

The mind boggles. If I submitted this kind of accounting/speculation in my business, I would be laughed out the door.

Ant Dwyer
16 Posted 11/05/2015 at 23:09:25
Worrying, maybe a wake up call!
Patrick Murphy
17 Posted 11/05/2015 at 23:07:08
If BK and his fellow shareholders paid circa £25m in 1999, that sum would according to one of those inflation calculator sites be worth around £40m today. Therefore a price of £120m should easily satisfy the shareholders' need to make money on their original investment and probably a figure closer to £100m would also be good enough, even accounting for the TV revenue.
Eric Myles
19 Posted 12/05/2015 at 02:07:27
Trevor (#14), the fans are informed about potential buyers and ground moves once a year, just around season ticket renewal time.
Eric Myles
20 Posted 12/05/2015 at 02:33:55
James #14, the reason why words like Â’probablyÂ’, Â’aroundÂ’ and Â’aboutÂ’ are used is because the costs will always depend on the structural and architectural design and the level of finishings required which cannot be known at the moment. But data does exist which can give a fair approximation of costs for low, medium and high quality developments.

I thought GP is valued at £10 million in our accounts? But then again the market value is subject to many variables like demand, use, demolition costs, etc.

Jason Heng
21 Posted 12/05/2015 at 09:40:17
So LukakuÂ’s right foot costs as much as Goodison Park?
Mark Wilson
22 Posted 12/05/2015 at 09:39:14
Here’s the thing, despite a shedload of paper and lots of online commentary I’m no nearer really understanding exactly what the debt is? I say this because I read the accounts, saw that over the years the debt has clearly reduced, and last year I thought it sat at a surprisingly low ish figure of £42m?

But... I now read figures like £80m-£95m bring lobbed into the debate... what’s the real figure and by that I mean the actual amount we owe the offshore mob who loaned us the money in one of an endless stream of allegedly legal but slightly shady deals? I don’t want to hear phrases like "when player value write-downs are accounted for" or something I can’t even spell like "amortisation"!! Or whatever... I’m just keen to know exactly what the real debt is and I’m sticking with my forecast that it’s actually a lot closer to £40m now than £100m.

All of this only matters if we ever get a buyer as he or she is faced with finding that debt figure, plus allowing certain board members to treble or more their original investment... if it can be called such...and think about a new stadium or a cleverly rebuilt Goodison. Which gets me to this thought: it surely remains the case that a potential buyer is looking at shelling out at least a total of circa, about, around, possibly, maybe £420m if it’s a new stadium or £300m if it’s a redeveloped Goodison???

Of course neither calculation includes lobbing in a min of circa, about, around, possibly, maybe, potentially £100m over a couple of years to get player investment to a decent starting point and buying us out of awful commercial deals so we can, er, compete with the Bournemouth’s of the Premier League.

Somehow I see all this as just another reason why we remain unsold and unloved by every billionaire whose ever seen a football match. Sigh.

Eric Myles
23 Posted 12/05/2015 at 13:54:45
Mark #22, the real figure isnÂ’t what we owe the BVI outfit, itÂ’s more than that.
Dave Abrahams
24 Posted 12/05/2015 at 17:48:51
Alan Williams (7), if you hadnÂ’t've sold the Beatles, you could have bought Everton yourself, what a fool you were!!!!!!
Patrick Murphy
25 Posted 12/05/2015 at 17:53:05
Dave - I wonder if Alan lives on a hill.

Has anybody out there found out why we have so much debt? Is it, like many say, a debt we incurred just to keep the club operational? And, if so, what is the true level of debt? – £46m or the higher figure of £95m.

Trefor Jones
26 Posted 13/05/2015 at 09:32:44
Good assessment. ItÂ’s not meant to be a detailed financial plan but rather an approximation of our overall position. I might hate its conclusions but itÂ’s indicative of the market we are in. To sell you have to have a buyer and whoever they are, the demographics of our region (with two giants in Manchester) are not at the top end of attractiveness for hard-nosed investors. History means very little to those guys.
Look across the park at the steady decline going on there. The young talent are itching to get away to spend their money in much brighter lights than Liverpool. The money their investors have poured in has made little impact on on the attractiveness to super stars.

Bill Kenwright and the corporate team are wrestling with an immensely difficult scenario and some of the abuse attached to some (justified) opinions is completely out of order.


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