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Dan and Stephen discuss football club finances, results for a major game developer and the closure of a scooter manufacturer.

Transcript

00:00Football Cup Finances, results for a major game developer, and the closure of a scooter

00:05manufacturer featuring today's business briefing.

00:07Well done, happy new year.

00:11Happy new year.

00:13So what were you starting off with this morning?

00:18Well I've got the results for Electronic Arts Limited, the video game giant famous

00:22for its iconic EA sport, it's in the game slogan.

00:26The company is owned by Electronic Arts Incorporated, which is headquartered in California, but

00:30its UK subsidiary is headquartered in Guilford, and they also have offices in Birmingham,

00:34Southam, and Manchester.

00:35EA is obviously famous for its sports games like FIFA and NFL, are you a big FIFA fan?

00:40Yeah, I'm playing FIFA at university fairly religiously.

00:43It's always a good game when you've got your mates around, it's always good fun.

00:49The FIFA franchise was actually discontinued in 2022 and replaced by EA Sports FC Love.

00:55That change coincided with the rise of eSports, which has seen the gaming industry grow rapidly

01:00and the nature of that market has changed dramatically, it's not so much targeted towards

01:05people playing alone in their bedroom anymore now, it's very competitive and there's big

01:09cash prizes as well.

01:11I should say that they're not only famous for their sports games, they've got games

01:15like Sims as well, which is very popular.

01:17So its latest yearly results show a turnover of £200m, which is down from £217m from

01:23the previous year.

01:25Profit before tax was £14m, up from £13.4m, so still a good year for the company, I would

01:30say, they remain competitive.

01:31Anyway, I understand you've got a story for the North West?

01:36Yeah, so we've got an exclusive story on the closure of Swifty Scooters, which has been

01:41announced as voluntary liquidation, as the company's executives have been used by the

01:47likes of Hollywood star Kate Hudson, newest frontman Matt Bellamy, TV presenter Kirstie

01:52Alsop and Olympian Charlotte Gilmartin.

01:55It also featured in the government's Exporting is Great campaign, so it was a really prominent

02:01business for a time there.

02:03Its founders actually came into insider's offices over the Christmas break to discuss

02:08why the company could no longer continue trading.

02:11It had at one point had plans to build a new production line in Manchester, which could

02:15have created 100 jobs, but the founders said that factors such as the government's failure

02:20to bring forward legislation for us had ultimately led to its closure.

02:25They cited various challenges, including the demand of the Scooter legislation, rising

02:31production costs, cost of living crisis, obviously, as we all know, and the withdrawal of vehicle

02:37insurance underwriters among the factors, but they've also spoken a bit about their

02:41journey with the company and what they've got planned for the future.

02:44I was sad to see the company facing closure, but on a more positive note, the Country Building

02:51Society has acquired the co-operative bank following a 780.8 pound agreement.

02:56The combined entity holds almost 300 years of experience and will also have a profile

03:00and balance sheet of 89 billion pounds, as well as about four and a half million members

03:05of customers across the country.

03:07Steve Hughes, the CEO of Country Building Society, he said they'll still operate individually

03:12and there'll be no changes to the way people use their services for the time being, but

03:15he's also said the deal is very exciting for their future.

03:18The combined group will be led by David Thorburn as chairman, Hughes as chief executive, and

03:23Lee Raybould as chief financial officer.

03:26So we started today's briefing with video game football, but we're going to finish on

03:29some real football clubs.

03:30Yeah, that's right.

03:31So we've got a few clubs over the last few weeks reporting their financial results.

03:38In today's newsletters, we have the accounts for Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City and

03:42Hull City.

03:43New York club then.

03:46As you might be expecting from sides in the championship, all three reported losses for

03:51the last 2023-2024 season, and obviously in that level, you're investing, you're trying

03:57to secure promotion, so yeah, not too surprising there.

04:02Of the three, Bristol actually reported narrowing losses, their base sold Alex Scott to Bournemouth

04:07last season, which had a big positive impact on their finances.

04:10That was a big deal.

04:12Turnover at all three clubs rose last year, so there were greater distributions from the

04:17Football League, but all three also reported improved attendances and ticket sales, so

04:22great story there.

04:25Bristol were the only one of the three to reduce staff costs, so that, again, covers

04:29player salaries, wages.

04:31A big factor in why the clubs posted losses there did.

04:35We're also mixed fortunes on the pitch for the three.

04:40Hull City, may I remember, were shattering it with play-offs.

04:42Sheffield Wednesday narrowly avoided relegation, and Bristol City were mid-table.

04:46So, yeah, fascinating to read in those accounts.

04:49They were relatively positive overall.

04:51Well, for more on those stories, visit insidermedia.com.

04:54You can also sign up for our newsletters and find out about some of our upcoming events.

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