Wasps owner Richardson says he is ‘optimistic’ about the future of the rugby club

Revenues at the club owned by 123.ie founder Derek Richardson dropped by £8.6 million leading to a loss of £7.4 million

Wasps playing Harlequins in a Gallagher Premiership Rugby match: club suffered ‘significantly reduced revenues compared with previous years’. Picture: Getty

Revenues at Wasps, the rugby club owned by Derek Richardson, the Irish businessman, have plunged due to closures and business interruptions during the pandemic, new financial filings show.

The Coventry-based club, which is playing Munster this afternoon in round one of the Heineken Champions Cup, reported revenues at Wasps Holdings as falling from £22.6 million for 2020 to £14 million for the current financial year, and a loss of £7.4 million.

Multimillionaire Richardson, who founded ...