financial year

The council is taking urgent action to avoid bankruptcy by next April, aiming to make savings to prevent going over budget by £35.2m this financial year.

Borrowing over the first five months of the financial year has now reached £83.8bn, which is £16.2bn higher than the same period last year.

Already, funding the state pension accounted for almost £140bn in the last financial year, making it the second biggest claim on the public purse after health spending.

He is predicting that strong sales in the second half of the financial year, particularly in the run up to Christmas, will allow the company to post a profit in its full-year results.

Significantly, most signings made this summer were completed after the end of the Premier League's financial year on 30 June, helping to manage future PSR calculations.