Celtic back in the black

Celtic reduced their bank debt by more than £5m after turning a loss into a small profit in the year to June 30, the club’s annual financial results show.

The club made a profit of £100,000 before tax despite a significant fall in revenue, not helped by the fact they only had two home European matches last season.

The club’s net bank debt stood at £530,000 – well down on the previous year’s total of £5.85m and the half-year figure of £9.1m that Celtic subsequently reported.

Chairman John Reid said in his annual statement: “Both of these higher debt figures, sanctioned by the board in order to finance player investment for the incoming new management team, and the subsequent reduction in debt levels were planned as part of our maintenance of financial stability and the independence that comes with it.”