Lancashire Cricket makes £3m operating profit

Lancashire Cricket announced it has recorded an operating profit of £3.068 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Emirates Old Trafford’s on-site Hilton Garden Inn hotel reported record revenue of £5.43 million during 2022, while the club’s conference and events revenue continued to return to normal levels with £3.37 million.

The venue also held four sold out concerts during 2022, one of which, The Killers, was rolled over from 2020.

Emirates Old Trafford hosted two nights of Harry Styles and one night of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“The club’s post-pandemic recovery continued in 2022 as Lancashire Cricket benefited from a return to normality with a full year of unrestricted crowds, following on from two particularly challenging years previously, due to COVID-19,” said Lancashire Cricket.

“Following the huge disappointment of the cancelled England v India Test Match in 2021, Emirates Old Trafford successfully hosted two One Day Internationals against India and South Africa and a Test Match against South Africa in 2022.

“Attendances at Emirates Old Trafford for domestic and international cricket were slightly impacted throughout the 2022 campaign, due to the construction works following the demolition of the Red Rose building and stand.

“On the pitch, the club continued to be successful – particularly in the men’s game – with the team progressing to the Royal London Cup Final and Vitality Blast Finals Day, whilst also finishing runners up in the LV=County Championship.

“Thunder – the club’s professional women’s team – continued their steady progress on the field, following an historic pre-season tour to Dubai which was the first joint men’s and women’s tour ever undertaken by a First-Class County.

“The club was also proud to see 20 players – men and women – represent England at various levels throughout the year.”

Angela Lowes, Chief Financial Officer at Lancashire Cricket, said: “Following the incredibly difficult challenges that we faced in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been fantastic to experience a normal and successful year for the Club.

“I would like to thank our primary lender, Metro Bank, for their support this year, which has been hugely appreciated, particularly regarding funding of the new development at Emirates Old Trafford.

“To welcome full crowds back for domestic and international cricket, as well as concerts, has played a key role in helping the club to return to pre-pandemic levels, whilst the on-site Hilton Garden Inn and the conference and events business continues to go from strength to strength.

“We look forward to unveiling our new stand, concourse and restaurant for the Ashes this summer, with an additional 100 bedrooms to complement our existing 150-bedroom Hilton Garden Inn to open later in the year.

“Combined with a packed domestic schedule and two sold out nights of the Arctic Monkeys, we can look ahead to another exciting, and busy, year for the club.”