Profits at Lancashire County Cricket club rose ninety two per cent last year, the club has reported this morning.
The club made an operating profit of £2,347,000 for the year ended 31 December 2017.
For the first time since 2014, the Club was also able to report a net surplus after interest of £971,000, which after the 2013 Ashes year, is the second highest reported profit in the last twenty years and most likely in the Club’s history.
Test match returns significantly improved compared with 2016 despite the game again starting on a Friday.
Total attendance for the visit of South Africa exceeded 60,000 which was nearly 10,000 up on the previous year when England entertained Pakistan.
In addition, the Roses T20 match generated a record attendance for the fixture of nearly 20,000.
Following the recent High Profile match allocation, which includes four Test Matches in five years, including an Ashes in 2023, as well as the appointment of Emirates OId Trafford as a host venue for the New T20 Competition, the Club is now able to look ahead with certainty of international cricket through to 2024.
Off the field 2017 saw the completion of the new four star 150-bedroom Hilton Garden Inn which opened for business at the end of August.
The Hotel exceeded expectations in its first four months of trading, achieving more than £1million of room revenue, an average occupancy of 61% and average daily room rate of £92 and in doing so has already been able to compete strongly against its local competitor hotels.
The hotel has continued to perform well into the early part of 2018.
The Conference and Events business experienced some challenges in the early part of 2017 but following the opening of the new Hotel, November and December saw a significant uplift in conference business and record Christmas party sales for the second year running, with further growth from combined hotel and events revenue targeted for 2018.
The Club also again hosted successful concerts and most notably worked closely with many other local stakeholders in putting on the One Love Manchester event that helped put Manchester back on its feet again after the events of 22 May 2017.
Finance Director, Lee Morgan, stated: “With the completion of the new hotel bringing the lengthy development period to a conclusion, the Club is now able to fully focus on maximising the return on its investment by growing its business activities for the future benefit of cricket at both elite and recreational level. It is important that the Club uses its world class facilities to create a lasting legacy with Emirates Old Trafford being the centre for cricket in the North West.”
