Fosun reaffirms commitment to Wolves in open letter
Wolverhampton Wanderers chairman Jeff Shi has reaffirmed Fosun’s commitment to the club, to ensure that it has “a long-term robustness and sustainability”.
Shi says the owners have “never had any plans to sell the club. The club is a long-term project and an important one for Fosun”.
The club however, is set to be vigilant over its spending to toe the line with the Premier League’s rules on profit and sustainability, formerly called financial fair play (FFP).
FFP sets a profit and loss limit for three rolling years, with a loss of £105m the threshold. Wolves reported in March a net loss of £46.1m for the 2021/22 season and saw turnover drop by nearly £30m.
Revenue fell to £165.7m last season from £194.1m, following a reduction in match days. After the 2019/20 season was derailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 47 games were played, as opposed to 38. With matchdays driving broadcast and sponsorship revenues, the club says this caused an inflated revenue figure for the 2020/21 season.
As well as Covid-19, Wolves’ ageing squad and its 13th place finish has impacted its finances, with Shi revealing it must, “pay even closer attention to FFP and manage it well”.
And as Shi looks to a manage the evolution of the squad, he says that “patience, composure and a long-term view is crucial, for growth of players and for the build of a squad over time”.
He praises boss Julen Lopetegui who was hired “at a very difficult moment” last November and “has undoubtedly done an excellent job”.
Shi’s letter shows similarities to Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha’s letter last December, before it revealed losses of £92.5m in the 2021/22 season.
The Foxes chairman helped to relieve the club of £194m worth of debt as the owners reaffirmed their commitment to Leicester.
The club was also not concerned about a FFP breach and looked to a “long-term ambition” like Wolves, but fell into the championship.
But for Shi, he finished his open letter to fans saying Wolverhampton Wanderers are “progressing every day, because we never lose; we win or we learn, as one pack”.
