Nottingham Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi writes off £17.7m in loans

Nottingham Forest owner and chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi has written off £17.7m in loans, according to the club's latest accounts.

The figures for the 2015/16 season show a loss of just £2.2m, despite an operating loss of £23.7m.

That represents a 90 per cent fall from the previous campaign and puts Forest in line with the Football League's rules on Financial Fair Play.

However, the Championship club still owes Al Hasawi £55.6m, down from £67m, and its creditors £82.8m. Wages also increased from £26.2m to £26.9m.

In addition, revenue increased slightly from £18.1m to £18.4m, despite average attendances at the City Ground dropping from 23,492 to 19,676.

Almost 1,500 season ticket sales have been lost on that front, with numbers falling fell to 14,079 from 15,482 in 2014/15.

Worryingly for Forest fans, the accounts state: "After having taken into account a range of possible outcomes arising from on-pitch performance, the forecasts and predictions adopted as a basis for going concern show a further funding requirement in excess of the current level of funding facilities immediately available to the director.

"Therefore the director acknowledges a material uncertainty in the event the company's ultimate beneficial owner becomes unwilling at any time to continue to provide funding support to the business to the general level that it previously provided.

"It should be noted that there are management initiatives that can be pursued to mitigate any potential funding shortfall including the sale of players and other business assets."

A protracted takeover of the club by an American consortium headed by John Jay Moores collapsed in January.

Kuwaiti businessman Al Hasawi bought Forest from the estate of former owner Nigel Doughty in 2012.