The owners of Bolton Wanderers have confirmed losses of more than £500,000 during the 2020/21 financial year which included the promotion winning season out of League Two.
The accounts for the year ending June 30 2021 for Football Ventures (Whites) Ltd have now been published. It shows an operating loss for the period of £517,393, a big reduction compared to nearly £3.5m reported for the previous 12 months at Wanderers.
In terms of loss for the financial year for the 12 months, a loss of £1.468m was reported. However, this a fall from the loss reported in the same set of figures for the 12 months up until the end of June 2020 which was £3.85m.
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The 2020/21 season was played almost entirely behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. No matches were played in front of a crowd at the University of Bolton Stadium, while the hospitality sector which includes the Bolton Whites Hotel was one of several to experience difficulties during the pandemic.
Turnover for the financial year was more than £6.1m, a drop from almost £9.4m for the 12 months up until June 2020. It meant a fall in gross profit from more than £2.8m to approaching £1.3m.
In terms of the Government's Job Retention Scheme, also known as furlough, the business received a total of £905,495 in the year ending in June 2021. This is a slight reduction in the more than £1m received though this method in the prior 12 months.
In terms of wages paid to staff in both sides of the business this total fell to just over £6.9m in the year ending in June 2021. It had been more than £7.4m in the previous 12 months.
A payment of £250,000 was made to the Eddie Davies Trust after the club gained promotion to League One. It was a condition of a remaining £2.75m loan owed to the trust being written off.
A couple of other loans are due to be repaid, one of which amount to £2.5m, and the other comes to more than £7.1m. Both are due to be repaid on or before August 1 of this year, and interest of nearly £1.7m on the second amount would be waived if so.
The report also details financial developments taking place after the end of June 2021. Shares worth £4m were issued to a Swiss consortium called BMLL Limited in January of this year.
Loans worth a total of £12.5m have also been converted into shares in the business. This occured towards the end of October 2021.
In a strategic report section of the document, the 12 months up to June 2021 was acknowleged to be a difficult trading environment owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the business has a 'sound financial base' and cash is being made available from shareholders when it is needed.
The report read: "This is the second year of trading for the Group and trading remained difficult for both businesses due to the continued impact of the Covid-19 global pandemic.
"The football club was forced to play all fixtures for the season with no supporters in attendance due to the pandemic which signifcantly impacted football revenue. However, on the pitch, the team were successful, gaining promotion back to EFL League One at the first attempt. This, following a change in personnel in the football management team.
"The pandemic caused significant impact on trading for FVWL Hotel Limited, as in most of the hospitality sector, resulting in trading losses for this financial year.
"The group loss for the period ended 30 June 2021 was £1.468m. The directors monitor performance through production of a detailed annual budget and the comparison of actual performance against budget."
The report continued: "Despite the loss during the year to 30 June 2021, the Group has a sound financial base from which to further improve the business. The Group is reliant on funding from its shareholders and such funding has been and continues to be made available from the shareholders when required. As at the balance sheet date the Group held cash balances of over £0.57m."
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