Distressed Diaries — Are football clubs paying too much for their boots?

Cloud 9fin's Distressed Diaries episode looks at financial distress among European football clubs, with host Bianca Boorer and distressed debt reporter Aditya Anand Kumar joined by Owen Ormond, a restructuring partner at Ward Hadaway. The conversation covers how the club business model works, why costs outrun income, and what kinds of transactions restructuring lawyers see, from distressed M&A and debt restructurings to insolvency outcomes. It also addresses whether regulation can restrain owner spending and the role of alternative types of credit.

1. Aditya Anand Kumar says 32 of the 51 clubs that have played in the Premier League since 1992 have been loss-making, based on calculations by Kieran Maguire of the University of Liverpool.
2. He cites a Deloitte report showing Premier League clubs' pre-tax losses rose by over 600% in the most recent season.
3. He says TV revenue distribution is by far the largest income source and varies with league position, so missing on-pitch targets sharply reduces income against debt taken on to chase success.
4. Owen Ormond describes his football work as often distressed M&A driven by immediate cash-flow need and creditor involvement, alongside internal debt restructurings and insolvency processes that can end in a rescue sale or a club restarting.