Yorkshire narrows losses in championship-winning season

COUNTY cricket champions Yorkshire has reported improved financial results for its title-winning season although its chairman warned that ongoing stadium investment was crucial to the future of the club.

Pre-tax losses were almost halved at Yorkshire County Cricket Club to £327,000, while revenues grew by 8% to £7.31m.

Last year, the club unveiled ambitious plans to transform Headingley Cricket Ground into one of the finest cricket venues in the world.

The Headingley Masterplan will see Yorkshire CCC, in partnership with Leeds Rugby, Leeds City Council and DLA Architecture, prepare for the phased redevelopment of the ground over the next 20 years.

The scheme includes the installation of floodlights and the rebuilding of the North/South Stand, adjoining the rugby ground, which will become the centrepiece of the project. The capacity of the cricket ground will increase from 17,000 to 20,000 in the redevelopment.

Mr Graves said upgrades to Headingley Stadium are crucial in order to stay “ahead of the pack” and retain its International match status.

“The stark reality is that if our stadium fails to evolve we will lose our International match status, which would be a devastating blow to the region, and YCCC. It is essential that we fill the ground for International matches and make Headingley a leading venue,” he said.

“More importantly, we are doing this without incurring any more debt. To stay ahead of the pack we have to continually upgrade the stadium and ensure Headingley remains an international venue of choice. We have an Ashes Test Match in 2019 and a number of World Cup matches too.”

The club’s largest source of income in 2014 was money from the England and Wales Cricket Board, which added £360,000 to bring its total to £2.19m. The increase was due to prize money for winning the LV= County Championship and for increased payments in respect of the development of England players and their representation for the national side.

Revenues from international matches – which account for 30% of the club’s income – were down very slightly at £2.18m, although incurred an additional £100,000 of costs last year.

Commercial income showed a 10% increase on 2013, to £1.80m, while tickets and hospitality sales from domestic fixtures rose 22% to £536,000.

Paul Hudson, director of finance, said the club was “very pleased” to be able to report improved results after a period of “heavy financial losses.”

He said: “The club has achieved an improvement in income. Despite Test Match ticket sales lower than the previous year, the One Day International staged against India was practically a sell-out on a hot September day, and proved a success with ticket sales, showing a small increase on the corresponding fixture last year.

“Commercial income has shown a significant move forward as a result of increased sponsorship of the Club, including the support of our new principal partner Mazars, along with our other partners. The newly launched online shop has also proved highly successful since its launch in August. This has helped us to leverage the success of performances on the pitch, and allow us a far greater reach with sale of club merchandise.”

He added: “The year ahead will hope to see a continued improvement in revenue. This is supported by the fact that the vlub will be making a significant investment in the in installation of permanent floodlights at Headingley. The changing landscape of Headingley, will see Nat West T20 Blast matches start at a later time, which is expected to be beneficial from a spectator and financial perspective.”

During the year the club received a £1m payment from the ECB which was used to repay the short term loan that was taken out in 2013.

This was referred to in last year’s accounts, and in 2013 was used specifically to repay £500,000 of the Leeds City Council loan and to fund capital projects.

This £1m of income that has been received in 2014 has been recognised in the accounts, as £500,000 of exceptional income, on the face of the Income and Expenditure Account and £500k of grant income, held on the balance sheet and released in line with the depreciation charge on the related capital projects.