Exeter City remain profitable despite £1m wage rise

Gary Caldwell became Exeter City manager during the period the accounts cover

Exeter City continued to be profitable despite a £1m increase in wages, according to their latest accounts.

Figures to 30 June 2023 lodged with Companies House show the Grecians made a £312,000 profit in their first season back in League One.

This was down from more than £1.2m when they won promotion in 2022 and almost £3m in 2021.

Exeter made a profit of just under £1.4m in transfer fees during the season.

The supporter-owned club remains one of the few sides in the English Football League to regularly return profits.

City's turnover rose to more than £5.8m during the season thanks to a rise in average attendances and a more than £500,000 rise in the money the club got from the English Football League following promotion.

Wages rose from £3.974m to £4.9m following promotion to League One as players moved in to new purpose-built facilities at their training ground.

As well as manager Matt Taylor leaving to join Rotherham United for a compensation fee the club also sold Alfie Pond, Matt Jay and Tim Dieng for fees.

They spent money on striker James Scott, defender Will Aimson and winger Demetri Mitchell during the period.

The figures do not include the sales of Josh Key, Sam Nombe or Archie Collins, nor the £1m-plus sell-on fee from Ethan Ampadu's move from Chelsea to Leeds United.

"We continue to increase the playing budget based on affordability within our financial model and forecasts available," chair Nick Hawker said in a statement accompanying the accounts.

"Our strategy, via our three-year business panning process, is to fund further year-on-year improvements to the first team in a sustainable fashion, by allocating some of that increased turnover and profitability into the playing budget."