I think it pained us all to see the inglorious departure Martin O’Neill made at Sunderland. He will always remain a hero at Celtic, where he transformed us from a sleeping giant into a Champions League team, but his subsequent record is mixed. He earned a fair return for his spend at Villa but was helpless to prevent the decline of his boyhood favourites, Sunderland.
Eight years after he left we can view his achievements with perspective: fabulous, but Martin falls behind Neil Lennon in scale of achievement. Not only did Neil reach what we used to refer to as ‘the next level’ in Europe, he did so against an enormous redistribution of financial power in Europe. It will be a long time before we trouble the Deloitte Top 20 list of football earners (or spenders).
When Sunderland replaced the student of the game with a showman they lost the sympathy with neutrals, some of their own fans and even the odd Miliband on their board. A dead cat bounce saved them from relegation in May but living with a showman month-in-month-out is harder than enjoying a few outings at the theatre.
Sunderland’s experience demonstrates how few good managers there are and why they are prized so highly.
1254125 at The Great Scottish Run.
On Sunday 6 October there is a 10k and Half Marathon. If that is beyond you. There are family events taking place the day before. This is your club, remind the world of what really counts and get involved in 1254125.
The first thing you need to do is sign up for the Great Scottish Run, or here for one of the family events.
Once you’ve done that, you can register for the 1254125 campaign here.
Then you can create a donations page here. Click Start Fundraising, search for Celtic Charity, setup your My Donate account).
Email me and let me know if you are having trouble signing up or need any more help, celticquicknews@gmail.com.
To read the new issue of CQN Magazine click here (don’t try to read the graphic below).
[calameo code=000390171853d2bfc4f69 lang=en page=4 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
190 Comments- Pages:
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goldstar10
14:53 on 23 September, 2013
When you go to settings~icloud scroll to bottom and delete account don’t worry it won’t screw everything up! then you will be able to enter your new iTunes email address and password
Delaneys Dunky
Hiya,pally?
Nice tae greet ye.
Ah am gled that ye brought this up.
Ah watched a rather Remarkable clip of Tony’s Debut Game ,fur Lierse.
And..
After Seeing how Friendly.. Welcoming..and All Roon, Great Folks ,,those
Endearing Lierse Fans . Are..
Why.. Ah widnae be surprised if Tony..
NEVER CAME Back tae us!
After the game wiz over..and Lierse has Triumphed.. Thanks tae Tony’s Debut Goal.
The Friendly, Couthy, Liersian Fans.. Applauded ,Lauded.. Tony and his Team Mates..in Gushing Gratitude..
And this Clapping and Cheering fae the Happy fans Went oan and oan and oan ..
Whit a Support!
Whit an Atmosphere of ..well.. Luv. .. Yep.. Luv..
Those Lierse Fans sure Luv thur Players..
And.. It Shows.
By ,Jingo .. It SHOWS!
because..well.. They Damn well.. SHOW IT!
Ah hiv seen nothing like it..
Oor Support is Great..
But…………………
Anyway, Ah am sure that Tony,is very Happy at his Choice ..and Wull only Thrive in such a Welcoming and Home Spun Environment.
Howevahhhhhhhhhh
If Tony wus Me..or Ah wiz Tony.. Eethur Way..
Ah wid HIv a Problem oan Ma mind.. when It came tae Making a Decision, when Ma Loan Period Ran oot.
Nice chatting,pal
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
Celtic’s Full years financial fgures to June 30, 2013 now out per link. Just waiting for RIFC now. http://www.investegate.co.uk/celtic-plc–ccp-/rns/preliminary-results/201309231457526700O/ …
braw!
Goldstar10
Always should say back up iPad before you do the above
Hey hey you you
get offa i-Cloud
Tamrabam
The Rnagers 4 Celtic 0
On the way home from Aybrokes after that Dalglish led defeat,Mark Lawreson said on radio ,that it would take 10 years for Celtic to catch the Rnagers.
In that summer the Rnagers spent even more millions.
We spent ,but most of it came from the sale of Viduka.
MON was in charge for 2 SPL matches.
Celtic 6 The Rnagers 2.
Neganon will be delighted.
He’s been waiting on the accounts for a while.
Tomtheleedstim at 13:05
Tony Watt has a problem? Oh, dear.
„Tony Watt branded lazy and unfit by loan club boss”
I read headline of the news and thought: how stupid Lierse manager must be if he gives interview to the media and calls his player LAZY?!
Then I read full article and …. can’t find it. Quite contrary, the manager tries to motivate his player.
If the headline stinks, there must be 1 m deep sludge at the bottom.
ASTOUNDED OF FOREHEAD as proclaimed by Bologna President Alfredo Cazzola.
Tomtheleedstim
I referred to the article, not to you or to your post, Sir.
Financial figures released today.
I see they look good.
Great stuff.
Hail Hail.
Bourne/Peter principle- did as suggested but still no joy, In Settings- iCloud has new account, but in “iTunes and App stores” it still has the old Apple ID address.
Ma heid’s nipping, Heading out for a bit but will give this another good coat of looking at later. Will let you know, cheers for the assistance.
Here was me thinking Apple made life easier for us all too! :-)
79 Caps@14.33
“It’s not a matter of hindsight.”
Yes, it is.
We now know the score and that we lost. Nobody would be now criticising Neil had we won, which was, precisely, the point of my Moscow example.
“Lenny took off 2 midfielders and brought on 2 forwards. That left us with a midfield of Brown and Mulgrew. No surprise then that Zapata had all that space for his shot.”
Actually , a converted defender, who was probably our most attacking option, and a guy who has played winger, central midfield and auxiliary attacker were taken off and replaced by another winger, Boerigter, who played midfield on Saturday, and Pukki, who wiki describes as a CF/left wing/ auxiliary striker. Calling them non-midfielders reminds me of the way James Forrest and, ironicaly enough Kris Commons (and Sammi) would be described as part of a 4:2:4 when we lost but accepted as 4:4:2 when we won.
Zapata got room because players were tired, Kris and Adam would have been more tired than Derk and Teemu. He shot from an area which should have been defended by our as-then unsubstituted central midfielders, Mulgrew and Brown.
“I am amazed that Neil is not getting flak for those incredible substitutions. There was a point for the taking, which would have been a very acceptable result. Why take such a gamble, it wasn’t a must-win game.”
I think you are easily amazed and your capacity for disbelief is quite high. Neil replaced pretty much like for like. One fast right midfielder for another, one auxiliary attacker for another. I find it quite easy to rationalise Neil’s decisions , as would most people who are prepared and capable of putting themselves in another man’s shoes.
Of course he could have put on Biton and Rogic, as some suggested (after they knew the result, of course). Those two central mids would have left us with a narrow midfield and a bigger change in formation. We may then have conceded two goals down the flanks and had a completely different stick with which Captain Hindsight could beat NFL.
Every sub is a gamble. There is no such thing as a no-brainer decision. Get two managers or two fans together and each pairing will generate two or three different approaches. Football tactics is an Art not a Science.
The only thing that amazes me is how many skilled experts are unemployed by football clubs and how many incompetent eejits get the jobs that these fellas missed :-)
Pure Armageddon from the financial report :)
While the headline profit figure does look good, bear in mind it’s off the back of CL income of circa £17M and will also include the Ki sale (I think).
I think it’s actually quite worrying in some respects how unsustainable we are operating with our baseline income and outgoings.
‘Our decision, taken earlier in the financial year, not to accept offers for key players, so that we might maximise our chances of playing success, was a good one in hindsight. The relevant player disposals were made post the financial year end, during the summer’
Hoopslegends Hooper and Wanyama were sold before ECL qualification was assured
DBBIA/BegrudgerCSC
“He’s chomping at the bit”
Brendan Rodgers on Luis Suarez’s comeback after being banned for biting another player!
Is the bit a precaution against a repeat offence?
Paul you say “Not only did Neil reach what we used to refer to as ‘the next level’ in Europe, he did so against an enormous redistribution of financial power in Europe.”
However you omit to comment on the biggest handicap Neil had, that Martin (by and large) did not have, and that is the almost visceral hatred engendered by the Scottish media and football authorities (Yes you Hugh) among the public that made Neil’s life almost impossible.
How Neil put up with the vitriol that flowed from the media and was picked up by the lumpen bigots I will never know. The bombs, bullets, beatings that the man from Lurgan put up with make him a hero in my book, even if we never won a thing, but we did win, despite these events, and despite financial doping from Walter and despite cheating referees.
I honestly don’t know why he is still here to win anything.
I know Martin had to put up with the same anti-RC and anti-Irish sentiment to a degree and I know his home life was affected when the thugs planted the Union Jack in his garden, but the treatment Neil got was of a different scale.
Then even when the nation saw Neil being assaulted on live TV and the assailant pleaded guilty to it and apologised for it and his counsel admitted the assault …the thug who did it was found not guilty by an Edinburgh jury!
Hear it from Paul McBride who also got the letter bomb threats as a consequence of being associated with Neil on video here: http://scottishlaw.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/top-qc-paul-mcbride-calls-for-jury.html
After I hear this on Newsnight Scotland it convince me that there a need to know more about jurors who also judge us and that is why this petition seeks to know, for instance do they belong to the freemasons, or the Orange Order, or the BNP, or the Ku Klux Klan (all legal organisations).
To paraphrase a fool, I think we have the right to know what these people are [who judge us]
Get signing, or they might think we like things the way they are!
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/GettingInvolved/Petitions/judgesmasonregister
Please.
Dontbrattbakkinanger
15:39 on
23 September, 2013
I think they might be laughably suggesting that not selling them in January ensured that we won the league.
Latest financial figures out.
Podium hunters on F5 alert!
Arsenal turns over £242.8m, yet record £3m less profit than Celtic…..wits going oan here then …
setting free the bears
The Milan game can’t be compared with the Moscow game. We went for it against Spartak because they had been reduced to 10 men. Against 10 men you can attack without taking big risks.
I have to disagree with you about the role of the players who were substituted. For me Boerrigter and Pukki are much more attacking players than Commons and Mathews.
You’ll have to believe (or not, if you wish) that after about 75 minutes I thought we should play for a draw. I am not the only one on the blog who thought so. Especially because, as you yourself say, the team was tiring. AC Milan may be struggling for form at the moment but top Italian teams tend to be fitter than ours.
None of this means I consider myself an expert and superior to our manager. I fully appreciate how difficult it is to manage at the top level and believe Lenny is doing a great job. However, I don’t think Lenny would say he has nothing to learn.
Even under Jock Stein we couldn’t win in Italy. I think Neil got carried away by how well the team was playing (though without forcing the Milan keeper to make a save) and thought we could win when it would have been wiser to take a point.
I remain amazed, but that is probably because I am an eejit;-)
Great set of results.
Wonder if the huns will attempt a negative spin?
Bada Bing
One man’s Armageddon is another’s Day in Paradise. :)
CQN looks just fantastic on the new iOS 7!
Celtic PLC preliminary results for the year ended 2013. Profit- £9.74m http://t.co/tUKWlICcRR
Sorry all bit late with last post :(
Ole Neganon2………………… ready steady
Philboy
They will probably pout the old £38 million in debt why is it not in the accounts crap
SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS
Operational Highlights
Winners of the SPL.
Winners of the Scottish Cup.
Progression to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League having played 6 home European matches (2012: 4).
30 home matches played at Celtic Park (2012: 24).
Celtic Park selected to host the opening ceremony for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
New three-year shirt sponsorship contract with Magners Irish Cider.
125 Anniversary celebrations.
Financial Highlights
Group Revenue increased by 47.7% to £75.82m (2012: £51.34m).
Operating expenses increased by 15.2% to £62.71m (2012: £54.44m).
Investment in football personnel of £9.66m (2012: £5.24m).
Year end net cash at bank £3.76m (2012: £2.77m net bank debt).
Exceptional costs of £1.83m (2012: £0.54m).
Profit before tax £9.74m (2012: £7.37m loss).
CHAIRMAN´S STATEMENT
I am delighted to report that success on the field and, in particular, our European campaign have contributed to a very successful trading period. These annual results show that in the year to end June 2013, turnover increased by £24.48m to £75.82m, which, after operating expenses of £62.71m, produced an operating profit of £13.10m and retained profits after tax of £9.74m, compared to a loss of £7.37m in the previous year.
This is not only a highly satisfactory result, but represents a five-year record profit. Consistent with such a robust financial performance, our net cash at bank position at the year end was £3.76m, an improvement of £6.53m from the same time last year.
Whilst the undoubted highlight of last season was qualifying from the group stages and playing in the last sixteen of the UEFA Champions League, it is crucial that we were able to win the Scottish Premier League title for the second time in a row and get another shot at Europe. This has led to another successful qualification for the group stages with a highly memorable win against Shakhter Karagandy on 28 August at Celtic Park.
The momentum we build by competing in Europe at this level in two successive years is considerable, both financially and in terms of our player pool development strategy.
The dynamics derived from the Board’s strategy of developing the player pool, which I have been reporting on over successive statements, were employed fully throughout the financial year. We invested £9.66m in strengthening the first team squad, compared to £5.24m last year, and following the sales of players in the period, we made a gain of £5.19m, compared to £3.54m last time. Our new arrivals at Celtic Park during the financial year included; Efe Ambrose, Tom Rogic, (on a permanent basis) Fraser Forster, Amido Balde and Virgil van Dijk. They were joined by Steven Mouyokolo, Derk Boerrigter, Nir Biton and Teemu Pukki during the summer transfer window.
Our decision, taken earlier in the financial year, not to accept offers for key players, so that we might maximise our chances of playing success, was a good one in hindsight. The relevant player disposals were made post the financial year end, during the summer transfer window.
Our strong financial performance has allowed us to invest funds across a number of other important areas, including the Youth Academy, with coaching staff, and the Stadium, where we have embarked upon a programme of upgrades that will be apparent this season. Our continued investment in the Youth Academy continues to deliver results at all levels, but special mention must be made of our Under 20 team, who won the league and cup double.
The Academy continues to supply young players to the first team pool.
Throughout the journey we have been hugely mindful of our supporters, who have performed the role of the ‘twelfth’ man superbly at each and every crucial fixture, not least of all the recent encounter with Shakhter Karagandy. In recognition, we introduced a one off £100 award for all standard season ticket applications for season 2013/14 and this has been warmly received, with season ticket numbers in excess of those for season 2012/13.
This year demonstrates, above all, the impact that football success brings to Celtic plc in its current shape. The predominant focus of the board is to sustain a robust structure that can benefit fully from the fruits of playing success, yet withstand the economic pressures of today’s football environment in Scotland. The two key elements of that structure are responsible financial management for the long term, coupled with an intelligent player pool strategy.
We believe that we are achieving this standard and, in so saying, tribute must be paid to Neil Lennon, his support team and players, the coaching staff and assistants at the Academy, Peter Lawwell, his executive team, and all of the staff and employees of Celtic who work enthusiastically for this great Club.
Celtic was built on charitable foundations and we continue to recognise the importance of that ethos and the Club’s role in society. Throughout the year we provided the platform for an array of charitable initiatives. Honouring the objectives of the Club’s founders, it was fitting that, in its 125th anniversary year, the Club continued to support the Celtic Charity Fund, which did more for charitable and social causes than it has ever done before.
Finally, we have enjoyed tremendous support from our fans, sponsors, business partners and shareholders and I thank them all.
Ian P. Bankier
Chairman
Celtic Football Club
“We had to battle against the wind in Forfar”
Allez Lecoist
– must have been the Bridies
Are we all waiting for Paul new topic post?
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
After the groundwork laid down in previous years, season 2012/13 represented further progress for Celtic, benefiting from our clear strategy for development and growth both on and off the field of play.
The Club won the Scottish Premier League title by a margin of 16 points, and achieved the double with victory over Hibs in the Scottish FA Cup Final at Hampden Park. In addition to our domestic success, the team qualified for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League following a very successful campaign in the group stages, re-establishing Celtic as a credible force in Europe.
Beating Barcelona in front of our own supporters in a packed Celtic Park ranks as one of the greatest achievements in our history. It was fitting, therefore, that that success followed a memorable service at St Mary’s Church in the Calton, to celebrate the Club’s 125th Anniversary.
Success on the field, and in particular the European campaign, has contributed to a very successful trading period, as has the continued commitment to excellence and innovation as we continue to develop the Celtic brand in Scotland and around the world.
FOOTBALL INVESTMENT AND OPERATIONS
Investment in the playing squad was made during the 2012/13 season, with just under £10m invested in the first team. A number of players were acquired, including Efe Ambrose, Tom Rogic and Fraser Forster on a permanent basis. We enhanced the blend of youth and experience in the squad, while a number of others progressed from the youth academy.
The average age of the starting eleven was regularly in the low twenties and we believe the value of the squad has been enhanced, given our progression in Europe. Our decision not to accept offers earlier for a number of key players, to maximise our chances of success and protect future income streams, was vindicated in terms of football success.
As the Company builds on the success achieved last season, our commitment to ongoing improvement and investment in young talent is reflected by the arrival of Virgil Van Dijk, Amido Balde, Steven Mouyokolo, Derk Boerriger, Nir Biton and Teemu Pukki during the 2013 summer transfer window. We believe that the investment made will benefit performance in the coming season, as we build on the strong platform constructed in 2012/13.
The investment in our Lennoxtown training facility continues to yield benefits, helping to ensure that players are recruited, developed and sold in the most efficient and cost effective way possible. Continued investment is planned to enhance the infrastructure that exists at our Centre of Excellence, providing the best possible resources, systems and facilities and thereby offering a greater opportunity for football success. We have created a world class scouting system, which is assisting player identification and recruitment at all levels, enhanced by the introduction of more advanced player performance analysis. In addition, we have maintained our investment in the sports science and medical team to ensure the best possible medical, nutritional and performance advice.
Our Academy has also benefited from ongoing investment in quality coaches and use of the facilities and expertise available at Lennoxtown. Several members of our Development and U20 teams have stepped up to the senior squad and we plan to continue this policy, which has delivered significant success.
YOUTH ACADEMY
In a hugely successful season on the field, Celtic won the SPL Under 20 League by eight points, losing only one game in the process, and winning the Scottish FA Youth Cup in May, but more importantly a number of young players have graduated to participate in the first team pool.
The partnership between Celtic and St Ninian’s High School in Kirkintilloch has now completed its 4th year. This partnership has gone from strength to strength with our young players combining football and education. The first intake has now seen the emergence of academy players who have developed and played in first team matches, including Paul George, Marcus Fraser, Joe Chalmers and John Herron. In addition, Calum McGregor also made his debut in our friendly fixture against Real Madrid.
For season 2013/14, 15 players will join the Club on full time professional contracts from the U16 squad (Intermediate Academy).
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
The impact of uncertainties in the world economy over the last three years has been significant and trading conditions generally have been extremely difficult. However, football success can have a major impact on reversing this trend as evidenced by our financial performance.
In the year to 30 June 2013, turnover was £75.82m, which is significantly up on the £51.34m reported the previous year. Much of this improvement is due to increased match ticket and TV revenues in connection with our participation in the UEFA Champions League group stages, and qualification for the last 16 of that competition, with 30 home matches in the season in comparison to 24 in 2011/12.
During the period, total operating expenses before exceptional costs increased in comparison to the previous year, by £8.27m (15.2%) to £62.71m. This uplift is largely because of an increase in labour costs, mainly football salaries and bonuses.
We invested £9.66m in strengthening the first team squad during the year, which has contributed to an amortisation charge of £5.93m in comparison to £6.37m the previous year. In addition, we achieved a gain on sale of £5.19m following the sale of players in comparison to £3.54m the previous year. Exceptional costs of £1.83m compare to £0.54m last year. These relate solely to providing for onerous leases in certain loss-making retail stores in accordance with IAS 37.
Overall, the Company’s retained profit for the year to 30 June 2013 was £9.74m, compared with the previous year’s loss of £7.37m. Further information is contained within the Financial Review.
TICKET SALES
2012/13 was a successful season for Ticket sales with almost 40,000 season tickets sold with a value of more than £13.3million.
A successful UEFA Champions League campaign contributed to home match ticket sales of over 470,000 for a value of over £10million.
In April, the Club recognised the phenomenal support and contribution of our fans during the year with a one off £100 reward on the cost of all full priced adult Season Tickets for season 2013/2014. The Club also reintroduced the £50 kids (under 13’s) Season Ticket, as well as making Season Tickets available for 13-16 year olds at £105 and 17-18 year olds for £186 for next season. This has been well received by supporters and season ticket sales for the season 2013/14 are encouraging.
CELTIC DEVELOPMENT
Celtic Development Pools remains the top football club lottery organisation in Britain and one of the most successful in the society/charity lotteries sector. Nearly 2 million lottery chances were sold during the 12 month period to June 2013. Around £700,000 was donated to Celtic Football Club’s Development Division for the purposes of youth development and supporters from all over the country shared almost £900,000 in prize money.
The weekly “Celtic Pool” continues to perform better than most football club and charitable lottery products in a challenging environment. Sales and marketing initiatives are continually updated in an effort to attract new members.
The match day Paradise Windfall lottery operated at Celtic Park remains very popular. Prize money of over £3 million has been paid out to Celtic supporters at Celtic Park since the Windfall began in 1995, including £375,000 paid out last season.
MERCHANDISING
Merchandising revenue for the year reached £14.98m, 12.6% up on the previous year, mainly driven by Champions League success and 125th Anniversary products. There were two kit launches in the period, as in 2011/12. Like for like retail sales were 29% up on the previous year with the relocated Glasgow Airport store in particular performing well ahead of expectations.
Other highlights included the release of an end of season DVD, “125 Years in The Making”, charting the 2012/13 season. Personalised granite paving stones were introduced this year, complementing our engraved bricks product, and they too have been a huge success. In addition, the “Young Hoops” Fan Club continued to grow with several events organised for members throughout the year.
MULTI MEDIA
Celtic TV has made good progress in the past year and is developing its route to market by offering the service on all iOS (Apple) devices such as iPads and iPhones. In addition to that, its main web portal, Celticfc.TV, and that of the Club, Celticfc.net, are under development.
The Club continues to invest in and develop its strategy for growth and improvement in interaction and revenue creation across all media and social media platforms, including You Tube, Facebook and Twitter. The Club’s season ticket renewal campaign for season 2013/14 was concentrated around a social media initiative, which was very successful.
Over the year, Multi Media supported many events for the company, including the 125th Anniversary event at St Mary’s Church attended by 1,400 people, produced three retail DVD products and released several “Apps”, with more planned for the next financial year.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Once again, the Club experienced a high level of media interest and activity throughout the year across domestic and International football.
The Club’s PR Department continued to achieve and manage a substantial level of high profile media coverage for a range of Club activities at a national level in 2012/13, including commercial, charitable and community events.
The PR Department also acts as an important liaison with supporters’ organisations, assisting with supporter enquiries, and deals with a range of initiatives ensuring that the Club upholds its important social dimension.
BRAND PROTECTION
As the Celtic brand continues to grow, so too does the number of rogue companies and individuals looking to divert revenue and traffic from official club channels. By protecting the brand on a worldwide basis, we continue to prevent unauthorised use by third parties. This ensures that the brand remains a valuable Club asset and helps to combat the loss of revenue and reputation.
Over the course of last season, counterfeit goods to the value of approximately £11 million were removed or disrupted, along with a number of websites and unauthorised social media profiles.
The Club continues to work closely with key partners, including NIKE, to protect the value and global profile of the Celtic brand, along with protecting the interests of our supporters
PARTNER PROGRAMME
The Club’s new shirt sponsor Magners Irish Cider, which was concluded during the year, has been well received by the supporter base following a successful launch of the partnership, which will see the development of some new and exciting fan engagement activities, leveraging the Celtic brand in International markets.
Further, the return of Phoenix Honda as Celtic’s car supplier and sponsor highlights the power of the Celtic brand in delivering media value and sponsorship platforms leading to direct sales for our partners.
During the year, the Club’s long standing relationship with Sports Revolution continued to grow with the launch of Stadium Live, which will see Celtic Park become one of the first fully Wi-Fi enabled stadiums in the UK. This progressive use of technology, combined with an innovative mobile application, will deliver an enriched match day experience for Celtic fans at Celtic Park.
Overall, the sponsorship landscape remains extremely tough as the ongoing economic difficulties continue to impact upon companies’ advertising and marketing budgets. Despite this, the Club benefits from the ongoing support of existing partners and we thank them for that commitment. We continue to innovate and to pursue new business opportunities, both domestically and internationally, to enhance revenues.
STADIUM
During the course of the year, the Club continued to enhance the close liaison through partnership working with the Glasgow City Council Safety Advisory Group for Sports Grounds, placing spectator safety as our highest priority. Spectator safety is of paramount importance and the Club recognises and values the expert advice and support provided.
The training of colleagues responsible for public safety duties continued to be developed. The Club’s Matchday Safety Officers responsible for the management of spectator safety are fully qualified and accredited in compliance with Edition 5 of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds. In addition, matchday safety stewards are also qualified in compliance with the ‘Green Guide’. Protectevent stewards participate in an accredited training programme leading to an SVQ Level 2 in Event Stewarding.
To enhance safety and provide assistance to our travelling support, the Club has maintained its commitment to providing Celtic Travel Stewards at away fixtures both at home and abroad. The season produced a number of spectator safety issues at away stadiums as our fans travelled to Europe in support of the team. The Club will continue its efforts to influence the safety of our fans travelling in Europe with away clubs, the local authorities responsible for public safety and UEFA.
The Club continues in its support of the work of the Football Safety Officers Association Scotland and recognises the importance of spreading best practice in spectator safety management across Scottish Football.
FACILITIES
The Facilities Department have once again worked to a high standard to ensure our supporters’ expectations are met. Work has continued to improve infrastructure at Celtic Park, Lennoxtown and Barrowfield. The department continues to strive towards reducing the company’s Carbon Footprint.
In the face of adverse weather conditions, our ground staff managed to maintain a high calibre playing surface with commendation from UEFA officials for its admirable condition. The pitch has been well maintained by the ground staff throughout the season, having held over fifty events from Champions League matches to successful Sponsor/Charity games.
Our facilities are widely recognised across European football as top class and we will continue to invest to maintain this reputation.
CATERING AND HOSPITALITY
Celtic Hospitality performed to the highest standard, contributing significant revenues and receiving very positive customer recognition.
With our participation in the Champions League, our profile has been raised in the conference market with enquiries from a number of blue chip companies.
The Visitor Centre has continued to perform well over the season with an increase in visitors and sales compared to previous years.
We continue to attract visitors from all over the world to enjoy the Celtic story.
SUPPORTER RELATIONS
Our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system brings supporter and transactional data from many different business areas into one database and is now an integral part of both the Club’s and our sponsors’ marketing activities, allowing our supporters to be contacted with offers, news and information in a targeted and cost-effective manner.
This summer, we appointed a Supporter Liaison and Service Manager to act as a point of contact for supporters and supporter groups at the Club.
CELTIC CHARITY & FOUNDATION
Celtic Charity, the Club’s charitable arm, again enjoyed an exceptionally successful year, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for a range of worthy causes. The 1254125 fundraising campaign was launched in August 2012 and activities throughout the year included Kenyan Connection 2013, Annual Sporting Dinner, 1888 Charity Shield, Ben Nevis Huddle and two Lions Roar Again events.
The Club’s commitment to its charitable roots was maintained in 2012/13. Celtic Charity is now in the process of joining forces with the Celtic Foundation (a department at the Football Club which delivers social projects in our local communities) to establish a new, stronger Scottish Charity with a wider role and greater reach. This new entity, led by a new Chief Executive, will be called Celtic FC Foundation and supporters will see further developments in 2013/14.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Last season’s on-field successes highlighted the results of our commitment to nurturing talent within our First Team and Academy operations. We have endeavoured to emulate this with the management of our people off the field too, maintaining our Investors in People status. In doing so, talent development has been a key area of focus and investment over the past year and continues to be high on the agenda for 2013/14. The latter part of last year saw the introduction of Celtic’s Talent Development programme, designed to assist in terms of internal succession planning. The forthcoming months will see the roll out of training programmes to address personal development plans.
The Club has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to child protection with the appointment of a dedicated Safeguarding Officer reporting to the HR function, ensuring we are continuing to work to the highest standards in this important area.
Compensation and Benefits has been an additional focal point over the past year and will continue to be over the coming months with the introduction of Pensions Auto-Enrolment. The Club is on track to ensuring all its obligations are met.
In April this year, we launched our annual Colleagues’ Attitudes and Opinions Survey, which once again provided a wealth of useful feedback. We will implement a plan of action to address areas for improvement in the coming months, reflecting our ongoing commitment to employee engagement.
A number of new employees have joined us in the last 12 months, this injection of new blood bringing with it a wealth of new thinking, knowledge and experience. In addition, we have also seen the creation of some important new roles within the Club, including Supporter Liaison Officer and Social Media Officer, both of which reflect our proactive approach to communiating with our supporters.
SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK
Season 2012/13 was an extremely successful year for Celtic. Neil Lennon and his management team deserve much credit for the football success achieved. Celtic progressed to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League and domestically the Scottish Premier League was retained in addition to winning the Scottish Cup.
The football success achieved has greatly improved trading performance, which, in addition to the gains reported from player transactions, has resulted in impressive financial results for the year to 30 June 2013, with a profit of £9.74m reported despite the difficult economic climate. Such trading has assisted with year end net cash at bank of £3.76m, which compares favourably with £2.77m net bank debt the previous year. This performance has provided an ideal platform to ensure further progress is achieved.
Trading at the beginning of the new financial year has been encouraging. Standard season ticket numbers are in excess of last year, following the introduction of the one off £100 reward for all applicants. Seasonal sales of premium and corporate tickets are at levels comparable with last year and match ticket sales to date have been encouraging. In addition, a contemporary new home kit, together with a colourful away kit, have been launched successfully in a competitive merchandise market.
Additional revenue streams continue to be sought, particularly in respect of new media and commercial markets. The creation of the new SPFL creates an excellent opportunity for Scottish football to prosper, consider new opportunities to develop and improve the European co-efficient for Scotland.
Player transfers have been an increasingly important element of our business for a number of years. Our strategy to invest in the Lennoxtown Football Academy, together with related support services, was designed to identify, recruit and develop players capable of playing in the Champions League. The strategy has been successful to date.
During the summer transfer window a number of new players were acquired and Victor Wanyama, Gary Hooper and Kelvin Wilson were sold for sums well in excess of book value. Such gains from player transfers, together with the revenues that will be generated from our now secured participation in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, greatly assists our financial position, enhances Celtic’s profile and provides wonderful occasions for all fans.
The new match day bar and improved family section, opened for this season, have both been very popular. Over the coming year it is planned to demolish the London Road primary school, relocate the existing ticket office, upgrade the car parking and landscape the land at the front of Celtic Park adjacent to Kerrydale Street. We are also delighted that Celtic Park has been selected to host the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in July 2014.
We continue to drive revenues and develop the Celtic brand at home and abroad, which, together with the ongoing management of costs, should maintain a sustainable financial model. The discipline of good financial management will continue. We are operating from a position of comparative financial and football strength, with exciting young players continuing to make their mark in the team and assisting the generation of value within the squad itself. The biggest challenge facing the Board is the management of salary and transfer costs whilst achieving playing success in order to yield satisfactory financial results.
The return of Champions League football to Celtic Park this season will undoubtedly provide a substantial boost and an added incentive to maintain the progress we have made.
Peter Lawwell 23 September 2013
Chief Executive
Increase in revenue 47%
And we are skint?
BT
Not skint, but we are a prudent club.
That probably explains why we haven’t bought a state of the art bus.
It’s a Swindle
Since MON began his tenure, each manager has had his own style and played their own part in consolidating us into the healthy position we find ourselves in now. Even Big Tony arguably led to Lenny’s rapid ascension.
Every one, been a success considering we are competing in Europe with silly money.
Armagedon right enough.
My favourite bit of the Chairman’s statement “…it is crucial that we were able to win the Scottish Premier League title for the second time in a row and get another shot at Europe.”
….another shot at Europe!
Must be just me…………..
Is the Kenny Dalglish transfer money included in the latest accounts?