Losses at Coventry arena revealed after Mike Ashley’s takeover as turnaround continues

The Coventry Building Society Arena lost more than £4m in the first six months after being acquired by Mike Ashley, it has been revealed.

The billionaire retail tycoon took over the venue at the end of 2022 for £17m after the three companies that ran it fell into administration.

Mike Ashley beat Coventry City’s owner Doug King, who made a £25m bid, after a court decided that his move came too late.

At the time, administrator Andrew Sheridan from FRP Advisory said the deal was “a pleasing outcome” and that it would help to secure up to 1,000 jobs in Coventry.

Now, newly-filed accounts with Companies House for the firm that has been running the arena since the takeover show that it lost more than £4m between November 2022 and April 30, 2023.

The accounts also reveal that the Coventry Building Society Arena made a turnover of £4.3m during the same period.

The firm’s accounts for the 12 months to April 30, 2024, are not due to be filed with Companies House until January 31, 2025.

The Coventry Building Society Arena was previously run by Arena Coventry Limited, Arena Coventry (2006) Limited and IEC Experience Limited.

Collapsed Premiership rugby club Wasps and the previous operating companies running the Coventry Building Society Arena owed over £21m when they went into administration.

The venue, which was formally known as the Ricoh Arena, includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to Coventry City along with a 65,000 sq ft exhibition hall, a hotel and a casino.

Coventry Building Society entered into a ten-year name rights deal in 2021.

In an interview with CoventryLive in November 2023, the arena’s boss said the venue had “set the foundations for success” and had hosted around 750 events  including back-to-back sell-out stadium bowl performances from Harry Styles.

The arena also announced in January 2024 that it had welcomed more than one million visitors in 2023.