Keith Wyness: No need to fret over Aston Villa £81 million loss
Chief Executive Keith Wyness has sought to soothe fears over Villa's financial health – claiming the club's books have 'probably never been in better shape'.
Villa this week announced a loss of £81.3million for the 2015/16 financial year, prior to Tony Xia's takeover last June.
Wyness, who took over day-to-day running of the club following the Beijing businessman's £76.2million buy-out, claimed most of the loss could be attributed to Villa's market value being readjusted and added: "There is no cause for concern.
"Since we bought the club we have reduced the debt in terms of overdraft facility and Tony is funding the growth himself.
"The club has probably never been in better financial shape. We are always going to see the issue of parachute payments being reduced in years to come but that is something we are aware of and something we are prepared for."
Wyness also played down any concerns the club might risk breaching Financial Fair Play regulations but did admit this might become a more serious factor should they fail to win promotion next season.
Under FFP rules, Villa are permitted to make a maximum loss of £83million over a span of three seasons including the current campaign and projections for 2016/17 have already been lodged.
Wyness said: "Financial Fair Play is a very annoying rule in my view because it discourages people to invest in their own assets.
"We are OK this year and next season. The season after is what we are having to plan for."
