Stoke City reported a pre-tax profit of roughly £60m for the financial year ending 31 May 2025, largely due to £90.5m in intragroup loans from former owner bet365 being written off.
According to financial statements submitted to Companies House, the Championship club recorded an operating loss of £29.5m.
This represents a slight increase compared with the £26.2m operating loss posted the previous year.
Despite the operational deficit, the club’s overall financial position improved significantly following a corporate restructuring that removed a substantial portion of its debt.
The change came after the demerger of Stoke City from bet365, which took place on 8 July 2024.
Under the restructuring, Stoke City Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries were separated from bet365 Group Limited and transferred to current owner and chairman John Coates.
As part of the deal, all intragroup loans totalling £90.5m were waived.
John Coates is the son of bet365 co-founder Peter Coates and the brother of Denise Coates, CEO of the betting company.
The Stoke-based gambling firm has deep historical ties with the football club.
Peter Coates originally purchased Stoke City in 1986 and owned the club for 12 years before selling it to an Icelandic consortium led by Gunnar Gíslason.
The Coates family later regained control of the club in 2006 through bet365.
During their ownership, Stoke achieved promotion to the Premier League in 2008 before being relegated back to the Championship following the 2017/18 season, where the club has remained ever since.
The 2024 restructuring left Stoke City debt-free and also transferred ownership of key assets, including the bet365 Stadium and the Clayton Wood training complex, to Stoke City Holdings Limited.
Taking the debt write-off into account alongside the operating loss resulted in the club reporting an overall annual profit of more than £60m.
While the final result showed a significant profit, the club’s underlying financial performance still reflects ongoing losses.
Revenue increased from £32.3m to £35.4m during the year, largely due to higher central distributions from the English Football League (EFL) following a new broadcasting agreement with Sky.
However, operating costs also rose, climbing from £63m to £65.1m, which contributed to the larger operating loss.
Employment costs, including wages paid to full-time players and academy scholars, declined slightly to £30.3m.
This reduction reflects financial limits imposed by the EFL’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR).
On the pitch, Stoke finished 18th in the Championship last season, while average league attendance increased modestly to 22,805.
The club currently sits 14th in the table after 35 matches of the 2025/26 campaign.
Investment in new players also dropped significantly. Stoke spent £7.3m on player registrations during the year, compared with £18.2m in the previous season.
Profits from player transfers fell sharply to £151,000, down from £4.4m a year earlier when sales of Josh Tymon and Jacob Brown generated seven-figure fees and helped offset costs.
Club directors acknowledged that, like many teams in the Championship, Stoke City’s financial model still relies heavily on support from ownership unless the club returns to the Premier League, generates higher transfer profits, or benefits from changes in football’s revenue distribution structure.
The club also continues to maintain strong links with bet365, which remains the city’s largest private sector employer and holds the naming rights to Stoke’s 30,000-seat stadium.
The 2024 restructuring was justified by the duo citing licensing reasons and a ‘more sustainable way for bet365 to continue its global expansion’.
It also ensured that Stoke City would remain under the ownership of a member of the bet365 family.