OPERATING losses at GB News grew 38% to £42.4 million in the year to May 2023, the business has reported.

Annual Companies House accounts for the company GB News Limited show 80% year-on-year growth in revenue to £6.7m but also a 63% growth in cost of sales as the broadcaster continues to expand.

In May 2023, GB News had 295 staff versus 175 in 2022.

The Press Gazette reports that the latest figures mean GB News investors have shouldered total losses of £76m since the channel first launched in 2021.

READ MORE: James O'Brien caller makes perfect case for Scottish independence on LBC

In the financial year to May 2021, as it was preparing to launch, losses totalled around £3m.

In the year to May 2022, GB News reported losses ten times greater than revenue (31m versus £2.97m) and in the last year losses were instead six times greater.

In the report, directors wrote that they are “satisfied with the results for the year and expect growth in the future performance of the company”.

The biggest shareholders of GB News are hedge fund entrepreneur Sir Paul Marshall and Legatum Ventures Ltd – a company connected to the think tank and investment group Legatum.

Marshall recently hit the headlines as a result of a Hope Not Hate investigation in which it was claimed he had shared and liked multiple far-right conspiracy theory posts.

He did however deny charges of “Islamophobia” after the charity exposed his Twitter history.

GB News has repeatedly argued since launch that its digital reach, rather than traditional broadcast audience figures, is the real measure of its success.

In the new accounts, directors wrote the “most significant growth has been in digital”.

“Unique views and page views on the group’s website and app have increased by more than five-times and four-times respectively compared to May last year, whilst on Facebook and YouTube has tripled with aggregate subscribers across all the major social media platforms increasing by ov er one million to nearly 2.5m subscribers.

“This encouraging usage data is highly supportive of the company’s stated ambition of becoming the UK’s largest news channel by 2028.”

Digital revenue did indeed grow, quadrupling from £564,000 in the financial year ending May 2022 to £2.17m in 2023.

READ MORE: Independent Scotland will not commit to treaty banning nuclear weapons

However, this revenue stream is still smaller than general advertising revenue, which grew 41% over the year to £4.2m.

The latest figures come after Ofcom rapped the channel for broadcasting “unambiguously misogynistic” comments by former presenter Laurence Fox and failing to then apologise for them.

It also said it has “significant concerns” over its editorial controls and it was announced that Neil Oliver’s show would be moved online for its live portion.