Wolves post £20m profit in Premier League return

Wolverhampton Wanderers has shown its off-field performance has matched its on-field success after posting a pre-tax profit of almost £20m in its first season back in the Premier League since 2012.

Wolves revealed a pre-tax profit of £19.96m for the year to the end of May 2019, compared to a £57.2m loss the year before.

Returning to the Premier League propelled the club’s income to £172.5m, a massive £145m rise from its £26.4m turnover in 2018, driven by receipt of Premier League distributions and supplemented by improvements to match attendances and increase in commercial revenue.

However, the accounts filed at Companies House also show that Wolves owes parent company Fosun £131m, a £56m rise from the previous year, while £210m is owed to creditors, up from £122m in 2018.

But the accounts revealed that Fosun International “has indicated its intention to continue to make available such funds as are needed by the company, and that it does not intend to seek repayment of the amounts due at the balance sheet date.”

The club said: “Moving forwards, the aim of the board is for the club to become consistent contenders for qualification to European competition, which will be achieved through continued application of the footballing philosophy applied throughout the 2018/19 season, with strategic enhancements to the playing squad and development of academy players.

“The directors have a continued commitment to continuously improving the club, from both a footballing and a wider operational and strategic perspective.

“Supported by continued success in both the Premier League and cup competitions, both European and domestic, the directors consider prospects for the company to be excellent.”

The club said season ticket holders increased to the maximum available of 22,500 (21,233 in 2018) and the average league attendance rose to 31,030, compared to 28,298 the previous season.