51Âþ»­

Foxes title win could be worth £866m to city, says 51Âþ»­ research

Leicester City’s historic Premier League triumph could be worth as much as £866m to the local economy, according to fresh research undertaken by

In the first study of its kind, experts from 51Âþ»­ Leicester’s (51Âþ»­) newly-opened business school have analysed the huge boost the Foxes’ historic victory has brought – and will continue to bring – to the city.

In a comprehensive analysis, the team, led by Professor Dana Brown, LCBS principal, considered the economic impact of the title win in terms of direct expenditure and future legacy.

The study estimated City stood to make a total of £233m from their win, basing that on the club’s 2014/15 turnover of £104m and factoring in estimates of £46m from TV, sponsorship and advertising deals, a £9m UEFA Champions League qualification prize, and more than £25m from ticket, merchandise and hospitality sales.

Researchers also looked at the money generated by the club’s victory parade and celebration party in Victoria Park, back in May, which was attended by around 250,000 people.

The study estimated that the festivities brought in nearly £40,000 in bus tickets, £2m in food, drink and overnight stays and more than £6.3m in sales of Kasabian tickets, balloons, flags and hats.



The team then looked at the longer term effect of this cash injection, modelling the effect on wages, employment, investment and subsequent effect through local supply chains, using existing and tested formulas to calculate that the existing and future economic benefit of Leicester City’s success could be worth up to £866m.

The club’s success has led to a massive increase in public interest in Leicester: so far, in 2016, there have been 127 million Google searches for ‘Leicester’ – twice as many as other regional UK cities.

This interest has led to other increases: 51Âþ»­ has seen a 60% rise in international admissions and Leicester City Council is reporting increased inward investment enquiries.

The findings will be explored in the BBC’s Inside Out news programme, broadcast tonight (Monday September 12) at 7.30pm.

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Professor Dana Brown, who led the study together with Dr Rachel Granger, Reader in Creative Industries Management, said the study broke new ground.

She said: “Leicester City’s win was a once-in-a-generation thing which attracted the world’s attention. Something like that can transform the fortunes of a place like Leicester, putting the city on people’s radars and associating it with a sense of success and vibrancy.

“So we wanted to look not only on what money had already gone into the local economy but model as closely as we could how we thought the win itself and the attention it received would translate into economic growth in the future.

“The results are very impressive and underline just why life is so exciting in Leicester right now; it’s full of possibility.”

Leicester Castle Business School will offer a range of specialised business courses meeting the needs of 21st century business, including postgraduate MSc Business Management degrees in sport and creative industries. Courses will be taught in the historic 11th century Great Hall of Leicester Castle.