Celtic announce £11.5m pre-tax loss in annual accounts

Celtic have announced a £11.5m loss before tax after a year of disruption from the coronavirus pandemic.

The club said it suffered from lower gains on player trading, compared with the previous year, and being unable to host fans during lockdown.

In 2020, Celtic made a gain on sale of player registrations of £24.2m but only made £9.4m in the year to June 30, 2021.

The club spent £13.5m on players compared with £20.7m in 2020.

In September, chief executive Dominic McKay quit the club after just five months, with the club citing “personal reasons” for his departure.

McKay moved to Parkhead on April 19 but only officially succeeded Peter Lawwell, who retired after 17 years, on July 1.

It followed a managerial change and large turnover of playing staff.

Neil Lennon left the club in February with John Kennedy taking on the role until the end of the season.

He was replaced by former Australia manager Ange Postecoglou.

In February, Celtic revealed a pre-tax loss of almost £6m and a decrease in revenue of almost 24% in the club’s half-year financial report.

Ian Bankier, the club’s chairman, said the year to June 30 was characterised by “huge disruption to our operations” and the absence of supporters from stadiums.

He said conditions had improved markedly since, with Celtic delighted to welcome fans back in July.

In his statement he wrote: “The persisting trading restrictions from Covid-19 translated into lost earnings and, taking account of the seasonality in our trading, this was the key factor in the widening of our losses in the second half of the financial year.

“Although our stadium has been operating at near full capacity, recently announced Scottish Government restrictions on large venues will be a further challenge.

“Whilst we look forward with optimism to a more normal operating environment, we are mindful of the inherent risk of the pandemic continuing to affect public health.”