THE deepening financial problems of York City, even before the club was relegated last weekend, have been made clear in the most recent company accounts.

The Press revealed earlier this week that club chairman Jason McGill was appealing for fans to help raise up to £1 million to cover anticipated losses over the next two years until the club moves into the city's new community stadium at Huntington.

But an examination of the accounts shows the club's current liabilities had already grown from £1.5 million in 2010 to £4.7 million in 2015, with current assets in 2015 of just over £500,000 and interest payments of £361,000 due.

Club auditor Steven Kilmartin said the liabilities related primarily to increasing amounts of money loaned to the club by Mr McGill's company, JM Packaging Ltd, to help keep it afloat over the years.

York Press: Jason McGill

The chartered accountant said the bulk of the interest payments were due to JM Packaging, as they related to its loans to the club, but stressed that the interest had not been paid; it had instead been added to the growing loan amount.

He said Mr McGill had repeatedly assured fans that the packaging firm would not at any stage profit from its support for the club, and said the firm had made a donation of £360,000 to the club in the last financial year.

Mr Kilmartin said the club's financial difficulties were set to worsen in the coming year because of an anticipated reduction in revenue, for example from gate receipts and from the Football League's 'solidarity payments', which were funded primarily from TV rights for the Premier League which filtered down through the divisions.

The club's financial management consultant Peter Rookes said the club received about £240,000 in its TV solidarity payment this season, but this would fall to about £40,000 next season.

He said the club would receive about £400,000 from the League next season, the same as it received this season under a 100 per cent 'parachute payment' system.

If the club stayed down, it would receive 50 per cent of this amount the following season, and then nothing if the club had a third season in the National League.

Mr Kilmartin said the anticipated losses of £500,000 per season did not include interest payments, but the figure would improve for the second year if York were to win immediate promotion back to the Football League next spring.

He predicted that once the club had finally moved into the community stadium in the summer of 2018, as is now projected, its financial situation would improve significantly.

It would be freed from the costs of maintaining an outdated and dilapidated stadium at Bootham Crescent, while also enjoying new opportunities to raise extra revenue at the stadium.

  • The figures about York City's funding from the Football League and from TV 'solidarity payments' have been corrected in this article.