Wolves owners turn £126.5m of shareholder loans into equity

Wolverhampton Wandered has posted a net profit of £18.4m during a heavily impacted period by the pandemic.

Ownership group Fosun revealed in the newly-posted results that it has turned equity £126.5m of shareholder loans, effectively writing off the debt the club owed to the owners.

The club says its broadcasting revenues were once again impacted by rebates due to the 20/21 season’s disruption.

In addition, other commercial operations such as in-store retail, non-matchday corporate events and catering, museum and stadium tours were also put to a halt.

The retail business however remained successful following a shift to online sales. Once social distancing and safety measures were implemented in line with government guidelines, the store was able to reopen.

As a result of the increased number of matchdays within the financial year (47 league matches compared to just 29 in 2020), and despite permanent losses to matchday and associated revenues, overall commercial revenue increased to £194.1m (£132.6m in 2020).

Player trading in the year generated a net loss of £10.7m (£41.8m loss in 2020).

An income of £60.8m was generated through the disposal of players’ registrations, driven by the sales of Diogo Jota, Matt Doherty, Helder Costa and Tsun Dai, alongside crystalising contingent fees due for Ivan Cavaleiro and Pedro Goncalves.

This was outweighed by an increase in amortisation and impairment charges on player registrations which totalled £71.5m.

The club says it has continued to invest in the first-team and academy including the purchase of players such as Fabio Silva, Nelson Semedo, Ki-Jana Hoever, Marcal and Toti Gomes.

Overall, the financial profit for the year, after interest and tax, was £18.4m (loss of £40.2m in 2020).
This was the fifth season under Fosun ownership and the club’s third consecutive year in the Premier League.

All home matches last season we played ‘behind closed doors’ aside from the final league game where a capacity of 4,500 was permitted.

This resulted in the loss of revenue streams from matchdays, such as ticketing, hospitality packages, catering, sponsorship, advertising, mascot experiences and programmes.