Hundred Sell-off Saved Up To Six Counties From Possible Collapse, New Report Finds

The windfall generated by nan waste of shares successful nan 8 Hundred franchises whitethorn person saved arsenic galore arsenic six first-class counties from imminent situation and imaginable collapse, according to an master successful athletics finance who co-wrote a caller study into region cricket.

The Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report analysed nan finances of each of nan 18 first-class counties complete a decade, identifying a “yawning gap” betwixt nan results of nan astir successful teams – pinch Surrey by immoderate region nan astir profitable – and nan little well-off. Of nan £306.13m generated by nan 18 counties successful 2023 conscionable 3 teams – Surrey, Lancashire and Warwickshire, pinch income boosted successful each 3 cases by hosting Ashes Tests that twelvemonth – were responsible for 44%. By opposition nan 3 poorest counties – Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire – betwixt them generated conscionable 5.56% of nan total.

The ECB’s yearly costs to counties, a full of conscionable complete £88m successful 2023, made up 27% of their mixed income, but while it constituted conscionable 6% of Surrey’s it made up 71% of Northamptonshire’s, and 67% of Leicestershire’s. The study suggests that nan truth counties do not themselves power specified a captious gross watercourse could frighten their financial sustainability, peculiarly fixed concerns that it will beryllium reduced if income from early home and world media authorities income decreases.

“We would astir apt person been talking astir 18 counties going down to 14, 13, 12 even,” said professor Rob Wilson, nan report’s co-author. “Essentially nan image is counties overly reliant connected ECB funding. And if you return that ECB backing out, they are technically insolvent. They simply do not make capable money to lavation their face. Then you person this unicorn that is nan Hundred which will to a grade lick immoderate of those short and medium-term financial issues.”

Wilson described nan presence of nan Hundred money arsenic “a important turning constituent successful nan home crippled … an bonzer opportunity, but it has to beryllium managed pinch existent prudence”.

“It’s really easy if you conscionable look astatine nan numbers to opportunity those 4 counties are almost insolvent because they don’t make capable to prolong themselves. So without that grant, they disappear,” he said. “The reality is that nan ECB gross building enables nan counties to beryllium successful nan formats they’re in. And that’s going to beryllium turbocharged pinch nan Hundred money. What’s important is that nan ECB look aft that money and really they administer it truthful nan clubs don’t discarded it.”

But while counties are owed to profit from nan £520m generated by nan waste of Hundred franchises, 65% of that would vanish instantly if they simply paid disconnected nan indebtedness they held successful 2023, a mixed £338.6m, astir of it concentrated successful nan clubs pinch nan highest yearly incomes.

The quality betwixt nan financial mightiness of different counties is specified that though Durham’s yearly walk connected unit net costs, arsenic a percent of their revenue, was almost nan aforesaid arsenic Surrey’s (17% and 18% respectively), their full net measure was £1.39m, to Surrey’s £11.6m. Given that disparity it is possibly nary astonishment that nan report’s study of competitory equilibrium successful home cricket is not encouraging. “Overall nan wide inclination appears to beryllium declining,” it concludes, “and this should coming a origin of concern.”