Wolves post £39m loss in Covid-affected accounts

The club, though, say they would have achieved a 'small profit' of £17.6m had it not been for the effects of Covid-19.

Showing activity for the year made up to May 31, 2020, Wolves posted a loss of £39.3m (after a £19.5m profit for 2019).

Revenue for the year was 'significantly impacted' by the pandemic, reduced to £132.6m compared to £172.5m the previous year – less TV money being the main factor.

The suspension of all football on March 13 means only 29 of Wolves' 38 Premier League games are reflected in the accounts, with those after Project Restart and the final two Europa League matches set to be in next year's.

Money for the completion of those fixtures was postponed, while rebates were due to broadcasters for the disrupted 2019/20 season.

Wolves say that 'had broadcast revenues from suspended matchdays not been deferred', the club would have made a profit, 'even with the permanent losses of matchday revenues'.

Money given to Wolves by the Premier League was down from £114.7m in 2019 to £72.5m this time around.

They made a profit of £9.5m through player sales, but that was outweighed by their instalments on signing players (£51.9m), having turned the loan deals of both Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker into permanent transfers.

The acquisitions of Pedro Neto, Patrick Cutrone, Bruno Jordao, Luke Matheson, Renat Dadashov and Meritan Shabani are also taken into account.

The club's annual wage bill bumped up slightly, going up from £80.8m to £83.1m.

Their highest-paid director received £520,000, up from £470,000.

Wolves have also increased their financing with Macquarie Group from £50m to £75m – made up of a £60m loan and a £15m revolving credit facility. These would need to be repaid earlier in the event of relegation.