West Brom accounts: When will they be published and what can fans expect?

Albion were in a perilous financial position at the start of 2024 - before the US businessman came in to buy a majority stake in the football club.

Patel has invested on the pitch, with his team working off the field to repair some of the damage done by the previous ownership.

The last set of accounts for the club made for uncomfortable reading - but with the latest set of accounts set to soon be published, what can fans expect?

Jonny Drury takes a look at when the accounts will be published, what happened last year and what can be expected in the latest set of finances.

When will the accounts be published?

Clubs in the EFL and the Premier League are starting to publish their accounts for the years 2023/24.

Some opt to publish them early, however that doesn't have to be the case with every club.

Officially Albion have until the end of March to publish their accounts, with accounts for West Bromwich Albion and WBA Group both set to be published.

What did the last set of accounts say?

In the last set of accounts, dating to June 2023, the club announced a loss of £11m, after profits in the pervious two years.

The signifcant £50m drop in turnover was down to the end of the parachute payments from the Premier League, while the reports also revealed the impact of selling players such as Dara O'Shea for £7m.

Staff costs had increased as the club brought in free agents such as Okay Yokulsu, John Swift and Jed Wallace.

Elsewhere, in the accounts for West Bromwich Albion Group, the club's parent company owned by Shilen Patel's Bilkul Football WBA, a £7.6m loss was reported.

The report included the information on a £5m loan that had been taken out by the previous owner, which was now paid off.

It also outlined an £8m loan extension that was taken out by the previous ownership from MSD Holdings to cover overheads, which come on the back of a £20m loan from the lender.

The report also stated that Albion would face a challenging period ahead when it comes to complying with financial fair play. Clubs can only lose £39m over a three year cycle.

It was reported by the Express & Star at the time of publishing the last set of accounts, that the next set were expected to be significantly worse.

What has been said since?

There were worries going into the summer transfer window with regard to finances and how Albion were going to juggle their business with financial fair play and the profit and sustainability rules.

Sporting director Andrew Nestor addressed the issues in his first interview since taking on the role, back in September.

He said the owners have always been aware of issues, stating: "We came into this eyes wide open. Even during the acquisition, we were able to project where the club would be from a PSR perspective. We knew we had a challenge ahead of us.

"We have been in constant communication with the EFL to show them our pathway forward and ensure that we didn’t have any restrictions on trading. I feel like we have accomplished what we needed to do. We did have to right-size player wages for a non-parachute club, and that’s just the reality we’re working in right now."

Following a busy January window that saw Albion sell Alex Palmer for £5m, before bringing in Isaac Price and Tammer Bany, both for transfer fees, Nestor issued a further update explaining how the club have strengthened its position with regards to PSR.

He said: "There has been the additional benefit of significantly strengthening our PSR (Profit & Sustainability Rules) position, which has been crucial considering the perilous place the club found itself just 12 months ago.  

"We are continuing to strategically navigate this situation whilst remaining competitive in the league and investing in the club’s future through the decisions made in these last two transfer windows."

Another issue that has been touched on since Patel took over is the MSD loan Albion had taken out under the previous regime.

In his first interview after arriving at the club back in February 2024, Patel said: "Understanding the loan and building a relationship with MSD was a really important part of my process in acquiring the club.

"We have agreed to roll the loan over under my ownership. We have established terms for continuity and the ability to pay the loan down at the right time.

"So, we will be proceeding with the loan in place initially and we’ll be in a constant process with MSD to figure out the right way to move forward."

What is expected in the next set of accounts?

Albion fans will be keen to see what emerges from the next set of accounts. Given the warning following the last set, parts of it may make for difficult reading.

The issues from the final part of the previous ownership will still being felt, there is no doubt about that.

But from the words of Nestor in recent weeks, it seems as though the club have been prudently putting measures in place to improve things. That has pretty much been the case since Bilkul arrived at the club.

The expected losses will again make the headlines - but elsewhere another big issue will be what is happening with the MSD loans.

In his interview last year, Patel said the club would be continuing with the loan initially, and were constantly in a process with MSD to figure out the correct way forward.

It is expected there will be another update on this, and fans will be hopeful that the situation around the loan has improved.