Liverpool commercial director Ben Latty speaks to the ECHO about the club’s recent performance
For Liverpool, commercial performance is more important than for many other elite European football clubs.
The financial model that the Reds have followed under Fenway Sports Group ownership since their arrival in October 2010 has been one of the club’s success as a business underpinning the club’s success on the field and vice versa.
The value that Liverpool has been able to achieve in terms of commercial partnerships has been greatly aided by the club’s recent performances at home and abroad, with the club being able to leverage their sporting success to aid the financial success of the business.
However, in order for the sustainable approach to be maintained, the commercial department must deliver year after year, and the club must remain at the top of the list when major global firms look to enter the sponsorship market.
The Reds released their results for the fiscal year 2021/22 in February, with the club achieving record revenues of £594 million for the fiscal year ending May 2022. That figure was boosted in no small part by the club’s success in Europe, where more than £100 million was earned during the Reds’ run to the Champions League final last season.
However, the importance of commercial performance to the Reds was also highlighted, with revenues reaching £247 million, up £29 million year on year, thanks to a series of new partnerships with companies such as Wasabi and VistaPrint. The continued impact of the Nike kit deal, signed in 2019, in which the club receives 20% of the sale of Liverpool/Nike branded merchandise globally on top of a flat £30 million per season, also continued to yield positive returns with another record-breaking kit launch.
Since the end of that fiscal year, the Reds have also signed a new deal with Standard Chartered worth an estimated £50 million per year, and the club and sleeve sponsor Expedia extended their partnership for another four years last month.
Liverpool commercial director Ben Latty told the ECHO, “We’ve been busy.” We have had a lot of success in terms of partnerships. We continue to have the trust of some of the world’s largest brands, two of which are principal partners in Standard Chartered and Expedia. However, a number of new partners have joined us.
“Our fiscal year numbers were recently released, and they showed a £29 million increase in commercial revenue.” That was the previous year, which included Kodansha, Wasabi, and VistaPrint, but this year, in addition to Standard Chartered and Expedia, we have Nivea and EA Sports renewing with us, with hopefully more to follow in the coming weeks and months.
“This has been a very successful period for us.” We make no apologies for running the club in a sustainable and responsible manner. This is a critical component, and we must not only focus on adding but also on ensuring that the partners we have are satisfied. That is extremely important
“The last 12 months have also been extremely strong in terms of retail.” We’ve had very strong kit sales with Nike, and our partnership has grown and expanded. It has been a very successful year, and we must continue to build on that.”
The Reds’ commercial team went to market ahead of the renewal with Expedia to assess their options and mull over a number of potential partners, just as they did before entering into a new agreement with Standard Chartered last year.
When the club was looking for front-of-shirt sponsorship last year, they spoke with companies from a variety of industries, including media and entertainment, financial services, travel, electronics, and even crypto, before reaching an agreement with Standard Chartered, which was signed last year during the club’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Singapore.
The same options were considered this time, but the club was able to secure an increase in their financial deal while maintaining the status quo.
“We had a lot of options,” explained Latty, who returned to Liverpool in March last year after a brief absence to take up a board position at Bristol Sport.
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