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Archived News from October 2006

STAGS BLAME FANS FOR £260K LOSSES
12th October 2006 23:57


STAGS BLAME FANS FOR £260K LOSSES
GUY WALKER, Evening Post, 11 October 2006

Mansfield Town Football Club made a loss of nearly £260,000 in the year ending June 2005.

Accounts released five months late by the club show turnover was down more than £700,000 compared to the year before.

And the club made an operating loss of £258,812 - compared to a £402,193 profit the year before.

Despite the loss, accountants Hollis and Co said in a statement that the club is in a healthy financial state.

They said the club had reduced spending to compensate for the fall in income and has more than £1.5m in net assets and £392,000 in the bank.

The statement said: "The football club is in a healthy financial state to move forward.

"It owns its own stadium without any borrowings on it and operates tight control over its expenditure."

Owner Keith Haslam blamed the reduced turnover on a drop in attendances caused by fans staying away because of protests over the way he runs the club.

He said: "The accounts from the year before were helped by us reaching the play-offs.

"The turnover is down because gate receipts have been down.

"The accountants have said we are in a strong position for a Second Division club.

"If you look at the bottom two divisions, probably 70% of the clubs have been in administration while Mansfield Town hasn't.

"It is hard work running a club at this level and it is not helped by a minority of supporters putting an inaccurate spin on things.

"The unfounded rumours don't affect Keith Haslam, what they affect is the football club."

At the end of June 2005, the football club was valued at £1,577,622, although more than £1m of that was made up of debts to the club.

This included £242,593 of interest-free personal loans taken out by Mr Haslam and £585,728 owed to the club by holding company Stags Ltd.

The physical assets of the club were valued at £611,527 and Haslam paid himself a salary of £65,343.

Haslam has stated he has now paid back all his personal loans from the club, although this won't be confirmed until the 2006 accounts are released, which is expected to be by the end of the year.


 

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