Hartlepool United 2019/20 accounts: What we learned about Raj Singh's financial support, staffing and the future

From the key details to the financial support provided by Raj Singh, we take a look at what we learned from the latest set of accounts:

The Headline Figures

Hartlepool United Football Club Limited posted a loss of £322,812 for the financial year ending July 2020 – with these accounts covering the entire of the 2019/20 season.

That campaign was, of course, impacted by COVID-19 with the National League season declared null and void and income streams affected as a result. It’s also worth noting that the vast majority of National League clubs tend to operate at a loss year-on-year.

Yet despite that, Pools were still able to reduce their losses from their previous set of accounts (2019: -£860,114).

Much of that was due to the continued support of Raj Singh, with loans from his holding company - Clarence 18 Ltd – helping to reduce the total losses.

Indeed, the accounts state that Clarence 18 Ltd provided Pools with loans of £700,000 during the 2019/20 campaign. That was up from £676,565 during the previous season.

As of July 2020, the club owed £2.25million to Clarence 18 Ltd.

Staffing Numbers

Another interesting line of note within the accounts was the drop in staff numbers at the club.

At the end of the 2018/19 season, the document showed that Pools employed 202 staff – but that had fallen to 143 by July 2020. This number is likely to include match day staff too.

What Next?

So what comes next for Pools?

As the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt, Pools’ accounts state that the club has ‘a continuity plan in place which they believe will allow the business to continue to operate for a period of at least twelve months’. The mention of twelve months is standard practice in accounts of this nature.

Furthermore, the accounts say that ‘the company has adequate resources’ to continue to operate as usual – but the impact of Singh’s continued financial support is clear in this set of accounts.

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