Aston Villa announce major losses

Darren Bent will miss England's friendly with Holland (GETTY IMAGES)

Aston Villa today announced losses of almost £54 million for the year ended 31 May 2011.

The club confirmed the overall group loss for the year has increased to £53.9m from £37.6m.

That figure includes the money spent to bring Darren Bent to the club in January last year, but does not factor in the sales of Ashley Young to Manchester United and Stewart Downing to Liverpool which went through last June.

The club also revealed record revenues, with commercial income increasing by 15.9% year on year and total income by 1.3%, resulting in record income of £92m.

Villa spent £12m on changes in football management staff, with £25m invested into the club by owner Randy Lerner.

There was an £8.3m reduction in bank borrowings.

"Given the challenging economic environment that we have been experiencing in the West Midlands and indeed globally, we are pleased with the positive trends in our financial performance," chief financial officer Robin Russell said.

"The board of Aston Villa are confident that the actions taken since the end of the 2010-11 financial year have galvanised the long-term sustainability of the club and have also given us a better financial platform on which to build for future success.

"Our objectives are to compete strongly on the pitch and to achieve sustainability as well as compliance with UEFA's Financial Fair Play requirements."

PA