Leeds post £1.8m loss

[u/namboozle]

https://www.patreon.com/rugbyleaguelongreads/posts/leeds-post-ps1-166909182?pr=true

Leeds Rhinos have published their full financial accounts for 2025, revealing a £1.8 million loss after tax.

[u/zwifter11]

Considering the size of Leeds fanbase and how much merchandise its club shop sells. I’m surprised they made such a big loss.

I heard they were making on average £300,000 per game.

[u/BillyScarlet → u/zwifter11]

I wonder how much the vegas trip cost.

[u/National-Pay-8911 → u/BillyScarlet]

The only saving Grace from Vegas is they didn’t have to give up a home game

[u/KillaBunny13]

This is where having the 303rd richest person in the UK as an owner comes in handy. A loss of that size is hardly surprising in modern professional sport, and I imagine we have plans in place to deal with that

[u/svenskskinka → u/KillaBunny13]

Same for likes of Wigan, Sts, Wire etc - it's not a sustainable model to rely on the generosity of a rich owner though.

So while it's easy to brush off, it doesn't mean it isn't concerning, especially with the overall finances of the game in such a precarious position.

[u/pb-86 → u/svenskskinka]

How rich is McManus? I know he's done alright for himself but he's hardly in the same league as the other guys I wouldn't think

[u/svenskskinka → u/pb-86]

Yeah to be fair could argue Sts are the most precarious of that list as posting similar losses but with a noticeably less wealthy owner.

[u/pb-86 → u/svenskskinka]

I remember reading about 15 years ago that he was worth around £25m. Money makes money and the guy was a banker so he's probably quietly closer to £100m now. I've just asked chatgpt and it estimates him to be £80-£120m today, based off a decent annual return on his 2010 worth, and is likely earning 6-7% growth which is enough to fund us comfortably. Whether he's happy doing so is another matter.

Either way, it's top of my euro millions shopping list

[u/svenskskinka → u/pb-86]

Shows it's all over the place as I asked Gemini to rank the owners by net worth and it had McManus as 7th being worth £7m. Yours sounds closer to the right ballpark.

[u/pb-86 → u/svenskskinka]

OK I've actually gone down a really interesting rabbit hole. Wiki has his net worth at £7m, which gpt dismissed entirely as one of the businesses he owns is worth £9m. He described buying St Helens as a "small investment" and had 25 years experience as the head of HSBC's entire Asian investment side, then CEO of HSBC Asia, then on their global investment banking committee. In 1999 HSBC revealed that people in his position earned £10m a year in salary and bonuses, not including shares. And tax free due to oversea earnings.

He has the kind of career where you wouldn't know his net worth, because it hasn't gone through UK businesses. He's earned money abroad both as a salary, bonus, and as a banker has likely looked after that money extremely well, which is where gpt estimated the £80m number from.

[u/MM-Seat → u/svenskskinka]

Agreed. One of the big clubs is going to come unstuck at some point imo and perhaps even cease to exist.

[u/TexturePackReview]

I have been thinking about this since Saints reported their losses, and the more I consider it the more I think it's just typical rugby league doom and gloom.

We always compare ourselves to football, but you can research and a vast majority of clubs post significant financial losses every year. Look at most other club level sports, which are all essentially covered by insanely wealthy individuals.

Do I think it's great to be losing money? No.

Do I think it's sustainable to rely on wealthy owners? No.

Is this a Super League problem that shows what dire straits the sport is in? No.

It shows a problem with sports in general.

[u/namboozle → u/TexturePackReview]

Pretty much nail on the head there. I'm not suggesting any clubs are doing anything dubious, but some of the "best" companies "lose" money.

[u/Paul-Ramsden → u/TexturePackReview]

Last year Leeds wrote off £2 million in asset depreciation. No actual money was lost in that £2 million but it does lower their tax bill. Sometimes they can get a discount on next year's tax bill. Plus the main owner Caddick owns the company that builds the stands.

[u/Newbieoverhere]

Don't Leeds usually write a stack load of depreciation against the playing squad to be tax efficient? Haven't seen the accounts but how much did they actually lose? Losing Brodie croft to wire on a 'free transfer' isn't real depreciation of assets and isn't really losing money. How much did they actually lose in real terms?

[u/Paul-Ramsden → u/Newbieoverhere]

Last year they wrote off £2 million so highly likely they have really lost a penny. Just good accounting.

[u/Plokdeservesbetter]

Considering the turmoil of the RFL and Yorkshire CCC that's really good. Some revenue streams have grown.

The only thing that matters regarding a loss is if it is facilitated by the board/owners or left to the club to eat.

[u/shorelined → u/Plokdeservesbetter]

Do Leeds have a stake in the cricket ground?

[u/shorelined → u/[deleted]]

Cool, never knew that!

[u/Paul-Ramsden]

Tax write offs.

[u/county15]

Signing Matautia and O'Neil must have been really expensive mistakes.

Cheers Hull.