Liverpool’s managing Director Billy Hogan has revealed how the club are increasing their profit in order to help Jurgen Klopp win a major trophy, the Mirror reports.
Hogan arrived at Liverpool six years ago, originally in the role of chief commercial officer but has since stepped up to managing director, overseeing improvements within the club both on and off the pitch.
Under the reign of Fenway Sports Group, Hogan has seen annual commercial revenues more than double to £136million, report the Liverpool Echo.
Hogan spoke to the Liverpool Echo of the club’s increase in financial profit since he first joined the club.
We have moved the club forward quite a bit in that time. Clearly, from a commercial standpoint, which has been my area of responsibility, that’s grown significantly.
But more importantly and I think what everyone is most proud of is the strategy we’ve had since FSG took ownership – how we built the club in a sustainable way over the long-term to be successful on the pitch. That’s ultimately what this is all about – everyone here wants to win.
I think we’re starting to see the delivery of that strategy now in terms of the reinvestment on the pitch and the success we’re seeing. We’ve also invested heavily off the pitch with the Main Stand, the new superstore at Anfield and the new training ground which is just about to start.
Across the whole team of staff off the pitch there’s a huge desire to return the club to where we believe it belongs at the top of world football. We can’t do that by kicking a ball but we can do that by helping to drive the business forward.
Sitting here today, the club is in a tremendously positive place. The football is terrific, the team is playing great and we’re all excited about the future.
The latest accounts show a £20million jump commercially for 2016/17 as the club secured 12 new partnerships and also signed a training kit sponsorship deal with BetVictor. Three current partnerships also renewed their deals with the club.
Partnerships is a crucial part of the growth of the club
We’re very proud of the fact that our partners renew – it shows that the partnership is working for both sides. We are very focused on making sure they renew and also on growing that family by bringing in the right partners for the club.
We’ve just gone through a renewal with Standard Chartered. That will be one of the longest shirt sponsorships in the Premier League.
By the end of our current term with Carlsberg, we will have had a 28-year partnership with them which is unheard of. There are many other multi-term renewals.
Hogan went on to speak of shirt sleeve sponsor Western Union who came on board last summer and are paying around £5million per year.
Western Union has been a terrific partner for us, a truly global brand. It definitely resonates both in local and international markets.
We’ve been together for a year now and it’s been a good start to that relationship. We’re excited about the future with them.
Hogan was promoted to managing director as well as chief commercial officer during a club reshuffle in February 2017.
Fan engagement at the club has stepped up so far in 2018 with Liverpool becoming the most popular English club on YouTube.
Data from surveys suggests we have over 700 million followers around the world.
The growth we’ve seen on our media channels is a direct result of the great work being done by Markus Breglec and our media and marketing teams. A lot of the content they’re creating is absolutely phenomenal.
Hogan went on to speak of the pull that the club has seen since their appointment of Jurgen Klopp as manager. The club has seen a huge increase in commercial revenue and on-field performances since the former-Borussia Dortmund man’s appointment.
Jurgen is a big personality and he’s also tremendously supportive.
He completely gets that what we’re trying to do from the commercial side is generate revenues that we invest back into the football side.
The ‘Klopp factor’ is more than just about his interaction with football, it’s across the whole club. He’s a tremendous fit and we’re so happy that he’s here.
