John Eustace Hands Derby County £10,000,000 Financial Boost In New Investor Hunt

Derby County are still on the hunt for investment to help David Clowes continue his vision to take the club back to the very top.

The Rams have been under the ownership of the local businessman since 2022, when he managed to save them from potential liquidation.

That rebuild under David Clowes saw Derby County begin life again in League One, before their eventual promotion in 2023/24 under Paul Warne.

While it was an important step back into the Championship, the hard work couldn’t stop there, with plans to stabilise back in the second tier.

After a mid-season slump in 2024/25, the appointment of John Eustace turned things around for the Rams.

Derby County survived in the Championship, with a final-day draw with Stoke City securing their place in the division.

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
14	Watford	46	16	9	21	53	61	-8	57
15	QPR	46	14	14	18	53	63	-10	56
16	Portsmouth	46	14	12	20	58	71	-13	54
17	Oxford United	46	13	14	19	49	65	-16	53
18	Stoke City	46	12	15	19	45	62	-17	51
19	Derby	46	13	11	22	48	56	-8	50
20	Preston	46	10	20	16	48	59	-11	50
21	Hull City	46	12	13	21	44	54	-10	49
22	Luton	46	13	10	23	45	69	-24	49
23	Plymouth	46	11	13	22	51	88	-37	46
24	Cardiff	46	9	17	20	48	73	-25	44

With long-term plans to make a return to the Premier League, investment will now be needed to improve further.

Those hopes were boosted with Championship survival, with the finances set to receive a big boost, while making the club more attractive to investors.

The financial boost of Championship survival to Derby County in investment hunt

Derby County’s hunt for investment will have been dependent on their division for the coming season, given the impact of dropping from the second tier down to the third tier.

Given the losses that football clubs operate at, any investor would want to figure out exactly how the club is running.

Staying in the Championship is a huge boost to that, due to the financial gap that is growing between it and League One, especially with the TV deal on offer.

Speaking to finance expert Adam Williams, the exact impact of survival was discussed, outlining just how crucial it is to finding potential investment.

“The cliff edge between the Championship and League One is sheer but not as dramatic as the Premier League and the second tier,” Williams said.

“That said, Derby’s survival is probably worth about £8m-10m in revenue. TV revenue obviously declines and you usually see a commercial drop-off as well.

“Derby post pretty big operating losses – they were at about £14m at the last count. If you’re in League One, those widen.”

While that shows the clear gap between the leagues, and the sheer amount of money that is lost running a club in the EFL, there are still those who are interested in investing.

For Williams, now seems to be the perfect time to get investing in Derby, following survival and the current context of the fanbase.

He continued: “As an investor, a Championship club is more attractive given its proximity to the Premier League. If you go down to League One, there’s no guarantee that you come back up, even for a big club like Derby.

“We’ve seen clubs like Birmingham and Wrexham chuck loads of money at it but that’s not the norm historically. It’s a gamble that most investors don’t see as justifiable. It can be a money pit.

“If I had the money to invest in Derby, now would be the time to pull the trigger. You’ve got a galvanised fanbase, a quality manager and Championship status. If you’re looking for a non-London club with history and heritage, they don’t come much better than Derby. The upside is huge.”

On the current state of the club under Clowes, he added: “I think David Clowes has put the club on firm financial footing. They’re in safe hands with him, but he has always said he is something of a reluctant owner.

“Owning a club, you need to be prepared to plunge huge resources into it and shoulder a lot of risk, ideally as part of a diversified portfolio.

“To reach that next level and get a budget that will make them competitive at the top end of the Championship, he understands that fresh investment is needed.”

Following a campaign that flirted with possible relegation, a huge squad turnover in the summer and the financial strength of the clubs coming up from League One, it’s clear that a busy, and perhaps costly, few months are ahead for Derby.

David Clowes’ statement on Pride Park another signal of Derby County intent

Another important part of David Clowes’ reluctant takeover of Derby has been his part in restoring the heartbeat of the club once more.

The key role of fans, heritage and more have been taken into account for the Rams, with some hope that beyond his tenure, the stable footing he has provided will keep the club in a healthy state for generations.

Clowes has taken another step towards unifying the club once more, recently combining the Football Club with the stadium, Pride Park, under one holding company.

Pride Park had been separated from the club when sold by the previous owner to another holding company.

That had, as a result, put the threat of Derby not owning their own stadium into a potential reality.

With Clowes owning 100% of the club and the stadium with his rescue package in 2022, the reunification marks another key step towards the club being one once again.

A statement on the Derby County website from the owner reads: “Having secured our goal of maintaining our Championship status after promotion from League One, we felt it was the right time to make this change.”

A club spokesman also added: “The issue of where Pride Park sits and the protections around ensuring the club and stadium remain together, has been a regular topic of discussion at each meeting since the formation of the Supporters’ Board. We are grateful for their insight and analysis on this change of structure.”

That, in itself, should help secure Derby for the long-term future, and may well be another hint towards potential investment on the horizon.