Everton payout stops Burnley recording record loss in 2025-26 accounts

Burnley revealed in their 2025-26 accounts, published on 4 November 2026, that a landmark £38.8m compensation payment from Everton prevented the club recording a record loss for the year.

Six years after being debt free with £41.65m in the bank and enjoying a fifth successive Premier League season, Burnley were bought by ALK Capital in December 2020 via a leveraged buyout that used a £65m loan secured against club assets and £37m from the club’s own balance. Velocity Capital, the holding company, owed Burnley £80.1m that was also used in the purchase; the original £65m loan was later refinanced and extended to £105m in the 2024-25 accounts with interest rates up to 12%, and the club had factored £37m of future transfer instalments at 12.75%, leaving total borrowings of £142.3m, the 10th-highest external debt in English football.

Last season’s accounts included three one-off inflows that improved the headline figures: Velocity Capital paid £77.7m to the club, Premier League revenue was received, and Everton’s compensation of £38.8m was credited after a profit and sustainability breach finding for 2021-22. Including those items, Burnley reported a loss of £9m for 2025-26, compared with losses of between £24m and £29m in each of the previous three seasons, and all-time high revenues of £144.5m for the campaign; without the Everton payment the loss would have been £47.8m.

The Everton settlement is subject to an appeal expected to be heard in January and the board said in the accounts that "no provision should be included" because the result could "range between £Nil and the full value of the award detailed being repayable" and "the outcome of the appeal cannot be reasonably determined or measured". The accounts also warned that a number of events, including "the outcome of the ongoing compensation ruling appeal", could continue to "cast significant doubt" on the club as a going concern.

Burnley’s reported indebtedness has fallen on the back of those cash inflows: borrowings reduced to £62.9m, bank loans fell from £105m to £70.1m, and debt factoring dropped from £37m to £16.1m. The club stressed the improvement remains reliant on the Everton payment and that a successful appeal by Everton would materially alter the financial picture.

Kieran Maguire, professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool, said: "The underlying features are that the club was still losing effectively more than £1m a week. "That was despite the benefits of being in the Premier League, and therefore relying on player sales and the Everton settlement to reduce the figures to something more palatable." He added: "A more forensic look suggests that the underlying issues at Burnley still exist. "Given that they were in receipt of Premier League broadcast revenues and the benefits of being in the top division, that does suggest that the club faces ongoing challenges.⁠​⁠‍⁠"

On the pitch, Burnley are in the Championship relegation zone after 14 games, with one victory and four points adrift of the bottom three; Swiss manager Fabio Celestini is yet to win in two games in charge and supporters have been protesting against ALK Capital owner Alan Pace for much of the season. The club also set a new English league record for the longest run without a home win, which will reach 400 days when Blackburn visit Turf Moor on 22 November.

The accounts set out next season’s financial assumptions — Burnley will be in the Championship and the 2026-27 accounts will include around £38m of player sales and £48m of parachute payments — but made clear that the outcome of the Everton appeal, expected in January, remains a material uncertainty that could change the club’s financial position.