Preston North End Survived the Championship by the Skin of Their Teeth, on One of the Division's Smaller Budgets

In the 2024-25 season covered by these accounts, Preston North End finished 20th in the Championship under Paul Heckingbottom, securing survival late in the season after a campaign that flirted with relegation trouble for long stretches.

Turnover rose by around 23% to close to £19m, one of the smaller revenue bases in the division, and Preston posted a pre-tax loss of around £16m, a significant figure relative to the club's turnover as it worked to keep pace with better-funded rivals in the relegation battle.

Net assets of around £1m show Preston's overall financial position remains close to break-even, a legacy of the Hemmings family's traditionally cautious ownership even as the loss for this particular period was larger than the club's recent norm.

Staff costs of around £26m against turnover of £19m illustrate the scale of the gap Preston had to bridge to compete in a division where several rivals carry parachute payments or wealthy backers Preston simply doesn't have.

Survival, achieved with games to spare rather than comfortably, was a realistic outcome for a club operating on this scale of turnover in a division stacked with better-resourced competition.