Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishNottingham Forest achieved record revenue levels of close to £190million ($245.4m) during the financial year of 2023-24.And profits on player sales of around £100m helped the club make a pre-tax profit of £10.1m, having made a loss of £69.2m in 2023. It is the first time since Evangelos Marinakis arrived at the club that Forest have posted a profit. Pre-tax losses across his time at the helm still total £176.2m.Breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in 2022-23 saw Forest hit with a four-point deduction last season, but a profitable year ensured no such problems this time around. Forest’s three-year pre-tax loss from 2022-24 was £106.8m, before deductions for allowable costs, principally on their Category 1 academy, brought them under their £83m PSR loss limit.Revenue was up 22 per cent year on year, although there was still an underlying operating loss of £75.3m, which was up 20 per cent. But the sale of players like Orel Mangala (£20m, Lyon), Moussa Niakhate (£27m, Lyon), Brennan Johnson (£47.5m, Tottenham) and Odi Vlachodimos (£20m, Newcastle) helped them to end the financial year in the black.Forest have long admired the Brighton model of recruiting younger players who will only increase in value once they have gained experience with them in the Premier League. Forest’s recruitment — they invested £139.7m in the transfer market during the financial year covered by the accounts, which included the late-June signing of Elliot Anderson from Newcastle — has been impressive in recent seasons.Players like Murillo, Morgan Gibbs-White, Nikola Milenkovic, Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anderson have all, in theory, increased in value significantly since joining the club.
Gibbs-White’s value has increased significantly (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)In the case of Murillo, Forest regard the Brazilian as being one of their prize assets, somebody worth seven or eight times the £12m they spent to sign him from Corinthians in August 2023.It remains to be seen if the increase in revenue — which could be boosted by Champions League football, with Forest pursuing a top-five finish — will alter the dynamic.This season, the 36 clubs who qualified for the Champions League were given an initial payment of €18.6m (£15.6m/$20m at current exchange rates). The end-of-season balance is then shaped by performances.Every win in the league phase is expected to bring €2.1m, with a draw worth €700,000. And the higher you finish in the 36-team league, the more you can expect. Finishing top will bring in the region of €10m, with a sliding scale of merit payments all the way down. Qualifying for the quarter-finals will be worth €12.5m, the semi-finals €15m and the final €18.5m. The winning team can expect another €6.5m, as well as a further €4m for reaching the Super Cup final — in which they play the winner of the Europa League.What the numbers will be next season has not yet been confirmed, but they are unlikely to change significantly.
Marinakis converterd £82.2million worth of debt into share equity(Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)However, as part of the strategic report published with the accounts, the club appear to outline that player sales are a possible course of action again, if required in the future.This summer looks unlikely to need too much activity in that regard. Forest will benefit from 2021-22’s £47.7m pre-tax loss falling off their PSR calculation, as well as three seasons of the Premier League’s higher loss limits and a significantly increased distribution from the league for finishing much higher than last season’s 17th spot. The club’s transfer spending this season has lowered too, with the accounts disclosing net transfer costs of £48.9m since 1 July 2024. Having said that, Forest’s £100m player sale profits won’t be repeated this term, so a return to loss-making seems likely, even if their PSR woes are probably in the past.Forest’s four-point penalty last season thankfully did not impact on their fight against relegation, as they secured survival under Nuno Espirito Santo.“The directors consider that the market value of the first-team squad is in excess of its carrying value in the financial statements, with player transfers remaining a source of liquidity if required,” states the report.Forest’s total expenses (excluding interest) have gone up to £251.8m from £205.0m, which reflects an increase in wages and bonuses for the players and coaching staff, with the club adding that “increased amortisation of players’ registrations’ is also a factor. Forest’s amortisation bill hit £61.7m last season, having been just £7.3m in the 2021-22 promotion season, reflecting the scale of recent investment in the playing squad. Even so, Forest’s squad at the end of last June was still the fifth-cheapest in the Premier League.The report also underlines the financial commitment of Forest owner Marinakis. The Greek shipping and media magnate converted £82.2m worth of debt into equity towards the end of the financial year, before converting a further £72.1m in mid-January 2025. In terms of actual cash injected, Marinakis provided £14.8m to the club in 2023-24, though a further £44m came from external lenders.Of that, £28.2m comprised the bringing forward of fees due from Spurs following the sale of Johnson. Forest received that amount up front in exchange for £32.5m of the Johnson fee, opting for the money now as opposed to waiting until the end of August 2026 for it to be fully paid; the cost of bringing the cash forward was therefore £4.3m, though it should be stressed this sort of arrangement is increasingly common among clubs. Forest subsequently brought forward transfer fees on three other sales in July and September of last year.The report attached to the accounts also outlines the club’s intent to continue to invest in both the first-team squad and the academy, with youth product Ryan Yates having converted the winning penalty in the shootout against Brighton that secured an FA Cup semi-final place on Saturday.It also reaffirms Forest’s desire to redevelop the City Ground, with plans to rebuild the Peter Taylor Stand, with work potentially starting during next season. “The club continues to work towards one of its key strategic objectives to redevelop the City Ground to help support the club’s ambitions to compete and thrive in the Premier League,” says the report.(Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
