Rangers reveal loss of £17m in latest accounts as Ibrox club’s staff costs remain at eye-watering levels

Rangers have announced an operating loss of £17.2million in the past financial year.

The Ibrox club released the annual report and accompanying financial statement for the year ended 30 June 2023 which is in stark contrast to last year’s. Twelve months ago the club posted a slim operating profit of £252,000 but it’s a sorrier sight now with cash being haemorrhaged.

The figures do show record core revenue is up by £5m to £88.3m. But total operating expenses – or costs – remain high at £110m. Staff costs account for £61m, down by £3m on last year. The outlay of their short term Hampden tenancy was also listed with Rangers writing the Scottish Football Association a cheque for £67,000.

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The Ibrox club counted the cost of Michael Beale's summer spending spree last season as well as paying off the Englishman who was replaced by Philippe Clement. The club missed out on the Champions League last season, losing to PSV Eindhoven in the qualifiers but reached the last-16 of the Europa League where they lost to Benfica.

The Light Blues lifted the League Cup but blew two more trophy chances as they surrendered their advantage over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership run-in and lost the Scottish Cup final to their fierce rivals.

Crucially, the club say they are "free of any litigation claims for first time in over a decade following settlements" and interim chairman John Gilligan said: “Undoubtedly, it has been a challenging period for the football club with significant change occurring both on and off the park throughout both season 2023/24 and over the summer months.

"As part of these changes John Bennett stepped away from his role as Chairman in order to focus on his health. John remains a supportive shareholder and investor in the club and I’d like to place on record my thanks for his leadership both as Chairman and a Director over the past nine years. We look forward to welcoming you back to Ibrox.

“In addition, we have had a number of changes in senior leadership positions with the CEO, James Bisgrove, departing to join Al-Qadsiah in the Saudi Premier League and Creag Robertson recently departing as our Director of Football Operations. We wish both James and Creag all the best in their future careers and thank them for their efforts with the football club.

“Whilst we continue our search for the outstanding candidate for the CEO position, we retain a strong executive team within the football club led by our Chief Financial Officer, James Taylor, Chief Commercial Officer, Karim Virani and our Director of Football Recruitment, Nils Koppen. All three were recruited in the period under review, and, as you can see from our underlying performance, there have been significant steps made in a short period of time in delivering against our strategic objectives.

“The challenges encountered with the redevelopment of the Copland Road stand have been well documented, and as a Board we once again apologise to our supporters for the inconvenience caused by the delays in returning to our home. The support received at Hampden was outstanding and epitomises the link that our great club has with our supporters. I’d also like to once again place on record my thanks to the SFA, SPFL and UEFA for their understanding and support through this period.

“With the Copland Road stand now complete, we are extremely proud of the work undertaken to upgrade and improve the facilities for our disabled supporters. They truly are now some of the best facilities in Europe and are evidence of the Board’s commitment to continue to modernise and improve Ibrox and the wider campus.”