Torquay have done great, but heading to the National South rather than North gives you a much better chance of getting back up. The likes of Woking, Ebbsfleet & Braintree have yo-yoed between those leagues for years. You get lost in the North, so much more difficult.
On the field they have but it does look like the owner is trying to load as much debt as possible on to the club.
Kings Lynn playing budget was thought to be 275k rising to 325k last season.
I would agree the NLN is tougher than the NLS so Torquay Utd appear to have spent a huge amount more than Kings Lynn to win an easier league.
The state of Kings Lynn finances are another matter. The owner Stephen Cleeve served a Director ban from 2000 to 2008. A hotel he operated went bankrupt in February 2020 owing over 265k. The local council own the ground with a company owned by Mr Cleeve having a peppercorn lease. That company has borrowed 425k to the company that owns Kings Lynn FC owned by Mr Cleeve and his wife. Complicated I know but that is by design rather than accident on the part of Mr Cleeve I would think.
Torquay Utd owner Clark Osborne has an interesting history. This taken from an East Devon Watch blog.
"The man behind this company Clarke Osborne has now set up a new company “Riviera Stadium Limited”.
Gaming International Limited was once known as Bristol Stadium PLC.
Clarke Osborne was a director of Bristol Stadium PLC when Bristol Rovers could no longer afford to pay them the rent in 1986. Rovers were forced to play in exile in Bath for ten years.
Osborne was Chief Executive of Bristol Stadium PLC when Eastville was sold to Ikea for £19m. There were promises that a new greyhound site would be found in Bristol – but it did not happen.
I am sure that the new owners will lend the football club enough money to keep those fans who don’t look beyond the end of their nose happy for a couple of years. My fear is that the day will come when they will want everything they lend back plus a return on investment. They are not fans and they are not a charity.”
That was written in 2016.