By Kieran Maguire

25th Aug, 2023 | 7:00am

Kieran Maguire shares verdict on £120m Fulham development - 'it is an annoyance'

Delays to Craven Cottage’s expansion will be an ‘annoyance’ to Fulham but won’t have a major impact on revenue.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the economic impact of stadium delays.

The Buckingham Group – the contractors responsible for Fulham’s Riverside Stand development – filed for administration last week.

It has left the Cottagers facing huge delays over their stadium expansion, which began construction in 2019.

As revealed by Football Insider on Friday (18 August), Fulham owner Shahid Khan will have invested £120million into the stand before it is fully opened at the start of the 2024/25 season – a whole year later than initially expected.

The stadium expansion is set to add new state-of-the-art hospitality sectors, entertainment zones and new seating areas for fans.

Maguire explains that Fulham’s matchday income is a very small portion of the overall revenue at the club and therefore delays will not be too damaging financially.

“Fulham’s matchday income is substantially less than 10 per cent of their overall revenues generated in the Premier League,” Maguire told Football Insider‘s Sean Fisher.

“So the issues with regard to the delays to the stadium it is an annoyance for the owner and manager.

“Shahid Khan has put in hundreds of millions into Fulham already, so you can understand why he is trying to recoup some of that money by making the club more sustainable.

“But I don’t anticipate this being a major issue moving forward and  I’m sure the improved facilities will eventually be a very positive boost to cash generation.“

In other news, Three-man Fulham signing plan revealed after Mitrovic exit