Derby County: Owner David Clowes spent £55m to take Rams out of administration
- Published
Derby owner David Clowes has previously said he bought the club when he saw himself as the "last resort"
David Clowes spent £55m to take Derby County out of administration in the summer of 2022, the League One club's accounts have revealed.
The property developer paid £33m to purchase the club, which included £19.7m paid to creditors.
In a separate agreement, a £22m deal was done to buy Derby's home ground and settle an outstanding loan to MSD.
In the 12 months up to June 2023, which was Clowes' first year of ownership, Derby reported a pre-tax loss of £30m.
That loss, however, also includes a £19.7m 'impairment of purchased goodwill' - defined as the difference a company pays for an asset and its book value., external
Derby's operating loss from a turnover of £20.4m was £10.6m.
In a rare media interview, Clowes last summer said Derby had been a week away from going bust when he bought the club.
Still they were among the favourites to win promotion back to the Championship after his takeover and quickly assembled a squad after 282 days of administration.
Staff costs last season were £17.2m, with BBC Radio Derby reporting that the the wage bill for the first-team squad was only £7.3m of that total.
In League One, clubs cannot spend more than 60% of turnover on 'player-related expenditure'. Although that figure was 75% for Derby last season, in what was their first in the third tier after Championship relegation.
Derby's expenditure was at 42% last season and is expected to be be 45% this term.
If promoted to the Championship, compliance with spending rules in future years will be based on the club's £30m pre-tax loss.
The EFL's profitability and sustainability regulations, however, means there will be "add backs", which includes 'transactions with related parties above or below fair value'.
Derby finished outside the play-off spots last term and are third in the League One table with 10 matches remaining this season.