Co-chairman Ben Boycott confident of "future growth" after Walsall report heavy loss

Boycott stated that the figure includes a significant depreciation and capital-related expenses tied to the Poundland Bescot Stadium, which was acquired in December 2022, as well as capital expenses relating to the refurbishment of the Locker Room, which reopened at the start of 2024. 

The loss also contains interest accruals on funds injected into the club by Trivela Group UK, with Boycott referencing the increase in playing budget, staffing and the infrastructure of the club as a whole, all of which he believes will have long-term benefits. 

The American also attributed some of the losses to "lower than historical averages" from football-related income, such as transfer fees, TV selection and cup prize money. 

According to the club's latest accounts, Walsall generated a revenue of £6.7million, a decrease of just over 12 per cent from their turnover of £7.615million from the previous year. 

But Boycott is pleased with the investments made by Trivela and outlined the three key areas of investment during the first full year under their ownership.

"Looking at those numbers, I see the reflection of a significant investment that Trivela has made into the football club in a number of areas," Boycott said in a statement posted on the club's social media channels. 

"The season we're referencing (2023-24) saw a significant increase to staffing positions in areas of medical and analytics. 

"So a larger football infrastructure that we had that year and also equipping those personnel with the tools they need to be successful in their roles. Then also a more robust playing budget than we had in previous years. 

"The second category of investment is infrastructure. The largest project was took on was the renovation of The Locker and also operating it for a number of months prior to having any revenue. 

"The last piece is organisational capacity. In that year, significant expansion to our strategic leadership team and the creation of new roles such as marketing, retail and ticketing roles, which I'm very confident will increase our operating capacity long-term. 

"You're also seeing a few circumstantial things. We saw lower than historical averages in what I'll call football fortune income such as transfer fees, TV selection and cup prize money. Stuff which is generally harder to predict but just lower than historical averages." 

And Boycott feels that the investments made by Trivela are already bearing fruit, with Walsall sitting top of League Two with 13 games remaining under manager Mat Sadler.

He continued: "What I'll say is I'm very pleased with the investments that we've made and the fruit that they're bearing into the year that we're in right now. 

"I'd make the same investments again and I'm very optimistic about the future of the football club both from a sporting standpoint and from its operational ability.

"The football club is on a really strong foundation for future growth both from a sporting and an operational standpoint, and myself and my partners at Trivela are very confident and optimistic about the football club both in the short-term and the long-term."