(Credit: Imago)

Richie Mills

Fri 3 April 2026 8:10, UK

Leeds United and the 49ers Enterprises have been praised for the astute handling of their accounts by football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

On Wednesday, Leeds revealed they had suffered a loss of £49.1million for the latest financial year, whereas in 2023-24 it was minus £60.8m.

They did, however, achieve a turnover of £137m for the financial year ending June 2025, up from £127.6m in mid-2024, becoming a new Championship record.

Despite being in the second tier, they had the ninth-highest commercial income in England at £58.1m.

Leeds’ matchday income of £31.6m topped half of the Premier League teams, but their £103m wage bill was the second-highest in Championship history.

Now, Maguire has exclusively told MOT Leeds News about why the 49ers Enterprises have done such a good job during this tricky period.

Leeds United praised for ‘sensible’ approach

Leeds looked primed to get promoted out of the Championship when the January 2025 transfer window rolled around, but despite fans calling for extra bodies in the squad, the 49ers resisted.

That just about paid off as Leeds won the Championship title on goal difference ahead of Burnley with one of the last kicks of the season.

While their financial situation could look vastly different when the accounts for next season get released, Maguire believes the 49ers deserve credit for their financial acuity thus far.

He said, “I think Leeds have done well on quite a few levels. First of all, it’s record revenues for a Championship club. That’s on the back of Elland Road being sold out every week. The kit sales were superb, which certainly helped bring in the money.

“Wages were high, but that does include promotion bonuses, so they would have been lower if the club had not been promoted. What impressed me most of all was that they had another £100m-plus from the owners that was used to pay their own debt.

“Some of the things that you might have worried about from a borrowing point of view, in my view, have evaporated. There was a cause for concern when Leeds were first relegated, but the combination of player sales and money from owners has addressed that.

“When they were promoted, in my view, they were actually in a fairly strong and competitive position. To a certain extent, I think we’ve seen that this season.

“It’s been sensible buying, but the club is doing reasonably well on the pitch. I’m sure fans would like to be a little bit clearer of the relegation zone, but the future is very much in their own hands.”

Did Leeds do enough over the two transfer windows?

Last September, managing director Robbie Evans said Leeds spent everything they could during the summer transfer window as they tried not to fall afoul of the Premier League’s PSR.

Leeds spent around £100m on 10 players last summer, but Daniel Farke suggested he did not have the quality he needed at his disposal.

Evans said at the time: “This summer, we spent everything we could. Unequivocally, we are maxing PSR out this season.”

In January, their sole recruit was Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte, who has barely played since arriving at Elland Road.

Leeds four three points and three places ahead of the relegation zone heading into the final seven games of the season.

Could they have done more in January? What if one of their key players gets injured? In 2025, the 49ers’ gamble paid off. Whether that happens for the second year running is up in the air.