Leeds United are the commercial powerhouses of the Championship, according to figures taken from the latest available annual reports of the clubs.
Financial blogger Swiss Ramble has crunched the numbers to highlight how the Yorkshire giants top the table for commercial revenue by generating £16million for the last reported year.
They are ahead of Norwich City and Aston Villa, who generated £13million apiece, and fourth-placed Derby County and Bristol City (£12million each).
Few Championship clubs earn big money commercially, but #QPR £6m is only around mid-table for the division. In fact, four clubs managed to earn twice as much: #LUFC £16m, #NCFC £13m, #AVFC £13m and #DCFC £12m. pic.twitter.com/nvxexvUtmM
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) February 25, 2019
OPINION
The £16million generated by Leeds in 2016-17 could well have been trumped last season, although we must await the club’s soon-to-be-published annual report for proof of that. Nevertheless, the figures compiled by the impeccable Swiss Ramble demonstrate how the promotion hopefuls are maximising their potential under owner Andrea Radrizzani, given the restrictions of what is possible in the Championship, where companies and sponsors are not falling over themselves to throw money at clubs to anywhere near the same extent as they do in the Premier League. What is especially intriguing is how far ahead Leeds are of the likes of Wolves (£7million) and Villa (£3million), the Midlands giants with big fan bases. Villa narrowly got a higher average attendance last season than Leeds, although it was a season that eventually petered out for the Yorkshire big hitters. Should Leeds achieve their ambition of promotion back to the Premier League, there is a sense the world can be the oyster of a club with the reach, standing and allure to rake in commercial cash.