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