June 10, 2023 was an exciting day for SpVgg Unterhaching. The Munich commuter club had just won promotion to the 3rd league in the second leg of the relegation against Energie Cottbus, there were many fireworks in the guest block police and a great party with the fans at the local sports center.
A good year later, there is barely a trace of the magic of the promotion. And the results are sobering. The season so far has been surprisingly successful for the newcomer. Despite four consecutive defeats, the loser is currently in ninth place in the table and therefore five places ahead of its city rival Munich, 1860.
But economically the situation is complicated. In the last financial year, which ended June 30, 2023, the outsourced professional department generated net losses of around €6.8 million, with sales of almost €2 million, according to the recently published annual report of Unterhaching Fußball GmbH & Spielvereinigung Co. KGaA.
Accounting experts are surprised: the business model does not seem profitable
The figures are causing horror in the industry. “The balance sheet,” says Daniela Bergdolt of the German Association for the Protection of Securities Holdings (DSW), “looks terrible.”
Accounting experts also find annual financial statements depressing. With the usual income from television marketing, sponsorships and gaming operations, the company “cannot even cover classic expenses, let alone make a profit,” explains Christian Weber of the Institute for Accounting and Auditing at the University of Münster. . The business economist states seriously that the club's business model does not seem profitable.
Weber considers the “very high personnel expense ratio” particularly worrying, that is, the relationship between sales and costs for professionals and other employees. The corresponding key figure was recently “more than 230 percent,” says Weber, who did his PhD on football clubs. For comparison: in the Bundesliga the corresponding proportion is on average 45 percent. The expert also considers it “worrying” that personnel expulsion costs have increased by around 34 percent during the two years in the regional league.
Without the deal involving former Haching kicker Karim Adeyemi, the financial situation would likely be even more tense. Adeyemi moved from Haching to brewing club Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2018 before the Austrians sold him to BVB for another 30 million in 2022.
The million-dollar deal brought warm rain to Haching. The club received around €6.5 million for the deal, which saved it from another million-dollar loss in 2021/22.
The transfer of 30 million for Adeyemi cannot be repeated at will. Haching also knows this and prefers to keep the ball flat for the current season. A loss of €2.1 million is expected by 2023/24, according to the annual report. As justification, the club points to the “difficult general environment” that presents the company, like “all other professional clubs”, with “important challenges”.
“Increased risk of insolvency”: Schwabl now wants to tighten the screws on costs
Balance sheet expert Weber thinks this is an understatement. The expected liquidity deficit of 1.8 million euros is accompanied by a “greater risk of insolvency,” warns the economist.
Haching boss Manni Schwabl, who owns almost 17 percent of the shares, does not see the economic situation as dramatic, quite the opposite. There are several Haching players who are on other clubs' shopping lists, explains Schwabl, without giving specific names. If transfers really took place, the next year would be black numbers, says the main shareholder.
In the industry, the two young players Maurice Krattenmacher (18) and the Swiss Aaron Keller (19) are considered possible candidates to sell. It is also said that Gibson Adu, who should continue playing in the under-16s but is already training with the professionals, could leave, possibly to RB Salzburg.
Schwabl also wants to address the horrendous personnel costs. In the future, the club wants to rely even more on the talent of its own youth performance center, the club boss explained to FOCUS online. This is a priority. There is speculation in the sector that forward Patrick Hobsch, who remains the club's top scorer with eleven goals, could move to a second division team at the end of the season.
A big investor in Haching? What's behind it and what does FC Bayern have to do with it?
To obtain additional income there could also be an agreement with him in the new season. FC Bayern Worry about. Both clubs have been negotiating cooperation in the youth sector for a long time. According to plans, the sector leader could loan Haching one, two or three young players each year in the future.
Observers speculate that both clubs could share personnel costs. Bayern fans have long been stuck in the regional league despite their promotion ambitions. If the red, white and blue deal goes through, Bayern's youngsters could gain experience in the third division at Haching or, if they achieve the long-awaited promotion, even in the second division. For Bayern players, the route to the professional field via the sports center would probably be shorter than the detour along Säbener Straße. Furthermore, Bayern could probably sell young players with experience in the third or even second division more easily and more expensively and thus ultimately help finance the expensive on-campus operation.
The players' association could also benefit from ambitious new talent for the professionals and, in the event of a possible sale, from prorated income similar to the deal with Adeyemi. But Haching's boss, Schwabl, won't let anything slip through the cracks.
Does Bayern buy Haching shares? Schwabl expresses himself clearly
The club boss lifts the veil on the planned capital increase. The company wants the issuance of new shares to be approved at the general meeting next Thursday (April 18). In the future, the company should be able to issue up to two million new shares. Compared to current holdings, Haching's total number of shares would increase by up to 50 percent.
The project sparked widespread speculation in the industry. In recent weeks there have been persistent rumors that FC Bayern could also acquire Haching shares within the framework of the planned cooperation and support the club with several million euros. However, according to the DFB-The regulations are almost impossible. As a precautionary measure, Bayern denied such speculation before Easter at the request of FOCUS online.
Schwabl also rejected the rumors. The planned capital increase is a “reserve resolution” intended to open up more financial margin, for example for the planned purchase of the stadium. If this really happens and fresh money is needed, Schwabl emphasized that no outside investors will come on board. “If anyone subscribes to the new shares,” Haching's boss explained to FOCUS online on Thursday afternoon, “then it will be me and the Schwabl family.”