Championship clubs increase amount they are permitted to lose over three years by £2.5m following rise in operational costs and staff wages

Championship clubs have increased the amount they are permitted to lose over three years by £2.5million.

Mail Sport understands the move – which has raised eyebrows at Premier League sides – was voted through on Wednesday and will come into force next season.

It means second-tier clubs can now lose £41.5m across the reporting period as opposed to the current £39m.

League insiders say the rise is down to a surge in the cost of living. It also replaces a Covid ‘add back’, which drops off the reporting period next year.

They claim that the move has been made in the wake of vastly increased operational costs and staff wages.

However, sources at Premier League sides have expressed surprise given that the hike comes at a time when the EFL continues to seek a further payout from the top-flight amid the ongoing redistribution war.

Current Profit and Sustainability rules (P&S) dictate the £39m figure in the Championship. The Covid ‘add back’ had allowed for additional costs related to the pandemic.

EFL insiders are adamant that the extra £2.5m, which has been introduced for a single season, is not aimed at allowing clubs to spend more on spiralling player wages.

Instead, they say it is linked to increases in charges on such things as electricity, catering and staff salaries and is aimed, in many cases, at stopping clubs passing on costs to supporters.

But that claim is unlikely to be given much credence at some within the top flight. Currently, a financial settlement between the two competitions remains outstanding. The Premier League says it currently contributes £1.6bn to the wider game over three years. It had been proposed under a so-called ‘New Deal’ that a further figure north of £800m would be handed over.

However, that has failed to materialise with the threat of a government independent regulator – who may order a settlement – looming.

There is a reluctance among some Premier League clubs to give more cash to rivals who would then use it to try and take their place in the top flight. Some point out that a number of Championship sides have richer owners than certain clubs in the Premier League.

It has also not gone unnoticed that the EFL recently completed the biggest broadcast deal in its history, worth £935m over five years, along with a £148m international rights agreement.

Premier League insiders say the competition already provides between 20 and 40 per cent of a typical EFL club’s revenue.