Reading FC £90m payday and bigger boost to town

Reading Football Club last night (17 April) secured its long awaited return to the Premiership, following its 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

The Premiership place could be worth a staggering £90m to the Club and up to £30m for the town, says Thames Valley accountants and business advisers James Cowper Kreston.

Nick Rogers, a Partner at James Cowper Kreston and Reading FC fan said: “Promotion to the Premiership brings enormous financial rewards, and pressures, for the Royals, with the Club estimated to receive some £90m.

“But it is not just the club and its fans that will benefit. The Premiership profile will give Reading national and international exposure, attracting increased visitor numbers and create job opportunities.

“Whilst it is near impossible to put a value on this kind of exposure, Reading could look to Swansea, who beat the Royals in the 2011 playoffs to win a Premiership place, and to Blackpool, who secured promotion a few years back. Business leaders in Blackpool and South Wales estimate that a place in the Premiership brings up to an additional £30m into the local economy.

Nick concludes: “There is also the so-called ‘feel-good’ factor. Following the disappointment of losing out on achieving City status, promotion to the Premiership will give an enormous lift to the region – and that is something that just cannot be bought or a value placed on.”