Ellis 'looking forward' to Villa return

Recovering Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis has hailed an “improved” financial picture after the club announced a significant reduction in their pre-tax losses for the year ended May 31, 2005.

Villa lost £2.5m (€3.6m) before tax compared to £10.7m (€15.5m) in 2004, though turnover fell by 7.6% to £51.6m (€74.5m).

The key factor in that was the club receiving a reduced ‘merit award’ for finishing 10th in the Barclays Premiership, having been sixth the season before. The club did manage to reduce payroll costs by 2% and merchandising sales rose by 3.2%.

Ellis, who underwent major heart surgery earlier this year, said in a statement to the Stock Exchange: “The past 12 months has been a mixture of highs and lows from a business and personal perspective. As I write this statement I am well on the way to recovery and look forward to my return.”

Villa have so far signed goalkeeper Stuart Taylor, Czech midfielder Patrik Berger and former England striker Kevin Phillips this summer, with Thomas Hitzlsperger and Darius Vassell the major departures.

Ellis continued: “The board remains firmly committed to supporting the manager [David O’Leary] in his quest to bring regular European football back to Villa Park by providing him with the maximum level of financial support within our overall resources.”

On the subject of the possibility of former Manchester City defender Ray Ranson making a takeover bid for the club, Ellis said: “On June 28 2005, Mr Ray Ranson announced that he was working on a proposal that may or may not lead to an approach being made for a possible offer for the group. At this time we have no further information that we can release.”