Season review

Accrington Stanley enjoyed a second successive year in League One during the 2019/20 season having gained promotion in 2018.

The club languished in the bottom half of the table after 35 games when the season was abruptly suspended and subsequently curtailed following the COVID-19 outbreak.

This meant Accrington ended its second season back in League One in 17^th, retaining its status in the league for another campaign.

Prior to the disruption of COVID-19, there was not much for fans to shout about, with early exits to Crewe Alexandra and Sunderland in the FA and Carabao Cup first rounds respectively. There was however a lengthier run to the EFL trophy quarter-finals.

Off the pitch, there is limited financial data available in respect of Accrington Stanley due to the club producing abbreviated accounts that do not contain sufficient information for a full analysis.

From the limited information available, we understand Accrington Stanley recorded a modest loss of £0.07m for the year. This follows three-consecutive profitable years totalling £2m, suggesting Accrington Stanley were on course for another profitable year in 2020 before the impact of COVID-19 put an end to those hopes.

Transfers

On the transfer side, Accrington rely primarily on the free transfer market for new signings, and this was the case in 2020 with the club paying no transfer fees for any players, nor receiving any.

The sale of Callum Johnson in 2021 may supplement some of the lost revenue from COVID-19.

Profitability

After three consecutive years of profits, the financial impact of COVID-19 ended Accrington Stanley’s profitable streak as the club recorded a loss of £0.07m.

The club is likely to record another loss (and a heavier one) in 2021 as the club suffer through an entire season without fans in attendance, a significant revenue stream for most League One sides.

Accrington Stanley were benefitting from increased crowd sizes too following promotion, with a 40% rise in attendances in 2018/19 following promotion.

Assets / Liabilities

Accrington Stanley are in a net asset position. This fell slightly (4%) to £1.72m in 2020 despite cash levels more than doubling to £0.4m as the club beefed up its reserves ahead of a tough 2020/21 season.

As with all EFL clubs, Accrington Stanley had access to a loan from the EFL to help the club through the pandemic, receiving £0.2m from the league. Club owner Andy Holt did not inject any significant funding during the season, likely suffering from the financial impact of COVID-19 on his other businesses and personal wealth.

Conclusion

This brings a short and sweet overview of the financial position of Accrington Stanley in 2020 with the limited information available.

Accrington Stanley appear a well-run club from a financial perspective having achieved three-successive years of profits prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 which has helped cushion the financial impact of the pandemic.

Further losses are likely in 2021 following a season without fans in attendance and the loss matchday revenue this resulted in, but Accrington appear well placed to bounced back in 2022 having once again retained (and improved) its League One status in 2021.

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