Town made an operating loss of £10.32 million in the financial year ending June 2009. The loss was expected with owner Marcus Evans bankrolling transfer purchases and player wages as he seeks to get the Blues into the Premier League.

The figures are revealed in an information sheet supplied to shareholders in the PLC, which owns 12.5% of the club, outlining the overall club’s financial position sent along with the annual report and accounts for the PLC ahead of its AGM in the Sir Bobby Robson Suite at Portman Road on Tuesday 24th November.

The club’s operating loss in the previous year was £4.29 million with the rise no surprise with the 12 months to June 2009 Marcus Evans’s first full year at the club after his takeover in December 2007.

During the year to June 2009, player and coaching staff costs rose from £8.34 million in 2007/08 to £11.88 million, as a percentage of turnover that’s a rise from 52.7% to 81.1%. Overall staff costs are up to £15.94 million from £12.57 million, which represents 108.8% of the club’s annual turnover compared with 79.5% a year ago.

While player costs have increased significantly, the club saved £300,000 on administrative expenses during 2008/09.

Turnover was down from £15.8 million in 2007/08 to £14.7 million 2008/09 with commercial income down from £6.94 million in 2007/08 to £6.01 million and income from the Football League, including TV and radio fees, down to £1.93 million from £2.29 million a year earlier. Gate receipts were up from £6.58 million to £6.7 million.

The information sheet reveals Town’s current situation regarding debt: “At 30 June 2009 the club had…total interest-bearing debt of £35.7 million (intra-group debt £33.7 million, external debt £2 million). The external debt is the balance owed to the remaining loan note holders following settlement of £515,000 in July 2008. ITFC is not in debt to any financial institution.

“The club remains dependent on ongoing financing by the Marcus Evans Group (MEG). During the 2008/09 financial year the remaining funds invested by MEG at the time of the acquisition were spent and MEG has since provided a further £6.5 million in loans to the club.”

At the PLC’s AGM shareholders will vote on whether to re-elect PLC board members John Kerr and Martin Pitcher and whether to elect new chief executive Simon Clegg to the PLC board.

Photo: Action Images

BryngwynBlue added 11:10 - Nov 2 Hope ME doesn't pull out then! - or its bye bye
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dirtydingusmagee added 11:14 - Nov 2 the loss isnt surprising, the worrying thing is how the club is performing in return,.
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Uttlesford_ITFC added 11:22 - Nov 2 I think Ipswich Town may be the demise of the ME group, it would seem his business model, whatever it is, is not working out. You can't always buy your way to the top, we had a better side in 2007 and they cost next to nothing compared to what was brought in when ME took over.
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raycrawfordswig added 11:28 - Nov 2 There's only one Marcus evans .You have to grovel sometimes .
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dirtydingusmagee added 11:52 - Nov 2 uttlesford ITFC, I dont think so,M E could pull plug on Club, which is just another iron in his fire, he is putting money in he will be expecting a return for it, or he will put it somewhere else, and WE will be in the mire .
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mediamatt added 12:02 - Nov 2 That looks a little bit frightening to me. If he pulls the plug we are well and truely screwed. Clearly going nowhere this season, so the commercial side and gate receipts are going to be down next year which makes the outlook fairly bleak. We have no real tangible assets on the playing staff that we could get any great money for if need be. Hope ME has incredibly deep pockects allied with a massive tollerance for under achievement. Still, we won at the weekend eh!

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Golaboots added 12:05 - Nov 2 I understood that one of the conditions of the Evans take over was that if he sells the club in the future he has to sell with with the debt.
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hype313 added 12:15 - Nov 2 Its the same as a lot of other clubs if the glazers/abramovich/hicks pull out then these top four clubs would go bunkrupt with their debt, and remember, they budget for "hopefully getting into the champions league" the top four have a collective debt of 2 billion..ours is high but i cant see ME walking a year into it, he will walk once he has a return on his investment ie promotion...the time he walks will be 3-4 years if we havent gone forward as you cant keep investing in a 3 legged horse..Keep optimistic, keep keano (as i cannot see any other potential decent managers if he were to go) and just wait till norris is back with his hunger and civelli for other options, im sure we will start flying up the league in no time. Oh and maybe buy begovic...

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devontractorboy added 12:20 - Nov 2 Oh Boy, it just gets better and better, these figures are even more disturbing because of our current position and form. Just hope that future milk adds don't include the phrase (scouse accent) "Ipswich Town...who are they?????" Just hope ME keeps his faith in us!
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prozach added 12:33 - Nov 2 Marcus Evans is a smart businessman - with himself, Clegg and Keano, the only way we can move is foward. Marcus Evans will not pull out just like that - I think he has now realised that we are a long term investment/project and is prepared to stick by us
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62WasBest added 12:34 - Nov 2 The worrying thing about this is that even if we achieve Premier League status this debt is likely to grow significantly rather than diminish because the culture of that league is of high spending and large debt just to stay in there. Look at clubs like Portsmouth who won the FA Cup recently but are still mired in heavy debt and on the verge of oblivion just to keep competing. The moral of the story seems to be "Be careful what you wish for". Perhaps from a selfish point of view we Ipswich fans should prefer a Championship club unsaddled with debt rather than a Premier League one living permanently close to bankruptcy and dissolution. Does that corresponfd to ME's wishes though?

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DelaneysDonkey added 12:35 - Nov 2 Marcus Evans is not an idiot. He will have budgetted for these losses when he took over the club and his business plan will have included the contingency for us not getting promoted in his first three seasons. He knows you cannot have guaranteed and instant success on the football pitch. I think he is here for the haul. He knows that the best way to get back his loans to the club is to get promoted - not bail out. Relax.

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homer_123 added 12:40 - Nov 2 "...During the 2008/09 financial year the remaining funds invested by MEG at the time of the acquisition were spent and MEG has since provided a further £6.5 million in loans to the club." This money won't come for free....
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TractorRoyNo1 added 13:22 - Nov 2 Perhaps a few of the idiots who knock Evans will start to appreciate how much we own this guy, if he were to walk away we could be the next Southampton if not Luton Town.
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sirbenofmorlingshire added 13:32 - Nov 2 Very worrying set
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fredbarber added 13:32 - Nov 2 This just adds to my only worry if he ever walked away we would be in such trouble, but as ME and clegg have been saying there is a long term plan at the club and my trust is with tem and that UP THE TOWN ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
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sirbenofmorlingshire added 13:32 - Nov 2 Very worrying set of figures across the board here. Yes yes, ME will have anticipated them, but a loss is still a loss and the very basics of business is about making money, which is not shown here at all (yes it's early days of course — we all appreciate that), however if the business plan is we'll make money by getting promoted I just hope that this comes to fruition in the next few years (we haven't look likely so far to meet this business goal) and as no one, no matter how rich or smart, will just keep pumping money into a sinking ship and hope it floats, I'm a bit concerned about the faceless ME to be honest. Do we know if this guy is a football fan and has passion for the game or is this just an investment like buying a house and waiting for the market to pick up so you can cash in… worrying times all round for me. There are so many clubs going this way right now and how many are achieving major success, I think there is a case here for us to say, Money isn't going to guarantee success — I really hope we don't fall foul of this “cash injection, Premier League here we come” notion that seems to have businessmen from all over the world jetting over here with a cheque book. As I said, for me, worrying times.

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muhrensleftfoot added 13:42 - Nov 2 Don't expect that bottom of the Championship in November was part of ME's business plan. However, he's unlikely to give up on his investment after such a short time. Bet he wishes he'd never got involved now!
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StowTractorBoy added 13:50 - Nov 2 I can understand the concern but why would Mr. Evans walk away now its basically his Club so to walk away he would have to sell it. In the broader picture of his businesses the loss will not look so bad and his commitment cannot be questioned as since the period that these figues cover he has invested even more money into the Football Club. This bloke has been the saviour of ITFC and whilst I miss the 'family Club' we would be dead and buried by now had we not found new investment. I for one think Marcus Evans is in it for the long haul and as long as his other businesses thrive we will be OK.

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corshamblue added 14:09 - Nov 2 10 Million Thanks to Mr Evans. We are going forward, but apparently you have to sometimes take a step backward first. I'm still excited about what's happening around PR and I'm sure Roy Keane can take us to the Premiership with the support of Mr Evans.
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sirbenofmorlingshire added 14:22 - Nov 2 StowTractor — I'm not going to dig out my business text books, but I'm sure there is a term for something loosing money in your portfolio that is basically made plausible by other interests making money, “problem child” could be the term (remember we are in a global recession right now too, so don't bank on ME having had a bumper year in regards to profits). I agree he'll be in it of the long haul, but the reality is there are certain goals he has to hit to make the investment worth while, a business that makes a loss is not a great business believe me. The issue for me is ME has many fingers in many pies and IS HE just trusting in other people to make sure his money works and we hit those targets so the club becomes a lucrative investment whilst he is off managing other interests that are working???? IF we don't hit those targets or keep falling short obviously he needs to look at either changing the employment structure (I'm not calling for Keane/others to go right now FYI — I'm talking long term here), or does he offload the club to whoever will have it (not easy look at Newcastle and Southampton). I think my point here really is I have a feeling ITFC to ME is just another part of his business portfolio (am I wrong in saying something he has no experience or previous investments in — ie. sports teams) and if he isn't going to come in at grass roots and get involved like other investors with other clubs, then we are reliant on the club doing what he said he wanted it to do, with the setup we have. Guys… early days, lets hope it changes, but business is business and lets hope it turns around and we do what he wanted/expected, if we don't then I think panic stations all round!

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PutYaBootsOnKeano added 14:50 - Nov 2 Cheers Marcus! We should all get him a christmas card, or something. Just to say thanks :-D Actually Marcus, i'm a little skint myself, and i've an interesting proposition for you.. if you just have a minute i'll explai.. Marcus.. Marcus? Hello? COYB
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sirbenofmorlingshire added 15:05 - Nov 2 How about this for an analogy: Town are like an aging, former champion, 100-1 outsider in the grand national and we've all got a tenner on it. However, despite the high odds it's being ridden by (apparently) one of the UK's top jockeys. We've all got a stake on the horse so we're gonna scream it all the way to the finishing post and spur him on. The former champion horse, with “top” jockey spends most of the race bunched up in the pack as the hurtle towards the finishing post - but where does it finish and what do it's owners do if it doesn't come in…

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bluepeter added 15:08 - Nov 2 I for one appreciate Marcus Evans take over. I think some have forgotten the state that we were in before he saved us. THANK YOU Mr Evans.
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PutYaBootsOnKeano added 15:58 - Nov 2 SirBenof.. - ha, the analogy is flawed - clubs don't deteriorate with age and Marcus's motive can hardly be summarised as backing tired old creature for the sake of a gamble! Anachronistic too, we're not pleading for one last victory in life before retirement! Entertaining tho, like the attempt..
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