THE CITY of Brighton has become quite trendy in recent years. Unlike many coastal locations in Britain, its reputation seems to have grown, partly because its geographic position is far enough and close enough to London. Whether you fancy yourself as a part-time hippy, an artist or someone who simply likes the seaside, Brighton seems to be popular across a wide cross-section of people.
Brighton & Hove Albion is also a popular football club. They might not be in the elite band, but they are certainly near the top of the next level within the English top flight. Brighton have become a club that knows how to buy talent and make a good profit on potential. In recent seasons, they have made serious money on players like Moisés Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister, Marc Cucurella, Ben White and Leandro Trossard. Furthermore, Brighton have an emphasis on younger players and, among Premier League rivals, have fielded the highest percentage of under-21 players in their line-ups over the past year – 16.5% (source: CIES Football Observatory).
The club has also shown that it is prepared to take chances on up-and-coming coaching talent. Graham Potter was very successful at Brighton but found the move to Chelsea a very different environment. His replacement, Roberto De Zerbi, is now seen as a possible heir to Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool. De Zerbi took Brighton into Europe and the Seagulls enjoyed their first ever run in the Europa League, which ended in the round of 16 against Roma.
The 2022-23 season was a successful campaign for Brighton; they finished sixth in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Their excellent Falmer Stadium (American Express Stadium) was virtually full every home game with an average gate of 31,500.
Brighton made a very impressive pre-tax profit of £ 133.3 million in 2022-23, one of the best financial performances across world football last season and only the third profit made by the club in 13 years. In 2021-22, they made £ 24.1 million. Brighton’s turnover increased by 21.7% to a best ever £ 204.5 million, with healthy growth in both matchday income (+19%) and broadcasting (+23%). Both streams are now at their highest ever levels. Commercial revenues were down by 11%.
Brighton’s wage bill rose by 11% to a record £ 127.6 million (62% of income, the lowest since 2018), while the club made a profit of £ 121.4 million on player trading. This was almost double the £ 62.4 million profit made in 2021-22.
The club’s owner, Tony Bloom, is extremely popular with the Brighton public. He has unanimous support from the club’s fanbase and he was made a freeman of the city of Brighton in 2017. He has invested around half a billion pounds in the club and interestingly, Brighton have repaid part of his interest free loan to the club – taking it from £ 406 million to £ 373 million. Bloom, who is also a minority shareholder in Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise, is widely considered to be the best club owner in English football.
Brighton’s rise has been spectacular – the value of the club has apparently grown by 4000% since Bloom took over and they now figure among the top 30 wealthiest clubs in Europe (source: Deloitte) and the 30 strongest football brands (source: Brand Finance). The club is clearly run on sound principles and is also very confident about its position in the football food chain. From a neutral perspective, it is hard not to respect Brighton & Hove Albion.
GAME OF THE PEOPLE 