GCCC has released its financial statements and will be updating its members on 28 March at its AGM.
2017 has been a good financial year for the Club and it is reporting an EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation) profit of £4.146m. This profit includes an underlying profit of £1.646m and £2.5m relating to an agreement with the ECB regarding the staging of Test matches.
The underlying profit of £1.646m is a result of a number of positive events – hosting the Champions Trophy, distributions from the ECB to all FCCs, growing non-cricket business, growing sponsorship and tight control of all costs.
Following discussions with the ECB the Club decided not to apply to host Test matches during the 2020 to 2024 period in return for a compensation payment of £2.5m. The Club has agreed that if it wishes to host Test match cricket in the future, it will repay this sum on terms to be agreed with the ECB. This formed part of the Club’s strategy to become the white-ball venue of choice which resulted in the successful allocation of international T20s and ODIs and the appointment of the SSE Swalec as a venue for the ECB’s new T20 tournament.
Since 2012 the Club has made EBITDA profits of £4.0m, before debt write-offs and before this recent agreement with the ECB. These profits have been delivered through successful hosting of a number of high profile cricket events, including two Champions Trophies and an Ashes Test match, alongside very close control of costs. The Club has applied these profits largely in reducing its debt burden and through this and careful and responsible negotiation the Club’s net debt has reduced from £15.1m to £2.5m.
Looking forward the Club is very focused, alongside a close partnership with Cricket Wales, upon developing the game of Cricket in Wales, producing the highest quality players, and providing top quality entertainment for audiences within Cardiff and around Wales. The sporting, social and financial impact of these aspirations for Wales could be enormous. Through careful positioning and financial management since 2012 the Club is well placed to exploit this potential.
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