New report unveils 'staggering' losses for LIV Golf
The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund's investment in LIV Golf could approach $5 billion by the end of this year based on financials reported by LIV Golf's UK arm (and excluding its U.S. business). LIV Golf's financials were put under the microscope by Money in Sport, a newsletter following the money that is published on Substack. LIV Golf's UK arm, which manages all of LIV's operations outside of the U.S., filed its 2023 financials this week. Among the notable figures: Revenues picked up in 2023 from $4.9 million to $37.1 million, with Australia providing 45 percent of the annual total ($16.6 million) based on the LIV Adelaide tournament. Tournament hosting fees made up 37 percent of revenues, the largest category of income. Broadcast rights income amounted to only $3 million (8 percent of total revenue).
The expense side of the ledger isn't pretty. One positive: the per tournament cost, which worked out to almost $10 million in 2022, fell to $7.3 million in 2023 as LIV expanded from six events to 14. The largest line item is legal and professional expenses. In 2023 LIV UK's legal fees of $15.7 million were almost as high as PGA Tour's legal expenses ($18.7 million). 'It's reasonable to conclude that LIV's total legal fees are significantly higher than the fees incurred by PGA Tour,' Money in Sport wrote. LIV's 'Player indemnification' most likely relates to the penalties being handed out by the DP World Tour to members and former members who play on the LIV tour and continue to play occasional events on the European Tour. Those expenses of $6.9 million in 2022 reportedly were paid out in 2023, 'which must have been a welcome upside in the European Tour's books that year.' Operating losses grew from $244 million to $394 million. Overall, the losses being incurred by LIV are 'piling up at a staggering rate, necessitating regular injections of new capital by the Saudi PIF.' How much? The total capital injected to LIV Golf UK topped $1.0 billion after a recent issue of new capital in December 2024. 'The level of new share issues in 2024 of over $400 million implies no improvement in LIV's 2024 financial performance (ex-USA) which won't be filed for another 12 months,' Money in Sport wrote. Money in Sport concluded: 'We know from the statutory reporting by the Jersey holding companies that the total capital approved by PIF is now at $3.9 billion, $1.0 billion of which relates to LIV Golf UK and the balance to LIV Golf Inc. in the U.S. Clearly the U.S. financials must be considerably worse than the rest of the world performance reported by LIV Golf in UK. PIF's investment in LIV Golf could approach $5 billion by the end of this year, with further big bills on the horizon if they want to retain the top golfers as their contracts expire.'
Could this be a reason why the PIF's governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been more willing to sit at the negotiating table with the PGA Tour? It seems plausible but only he and a few others really know. For Money in Sport's complete update on LIV financials, including some helpful charts and graphs, click here.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LIV Golf financial losses mounting fast
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