'Outrageous': MP calls for FCA to probe Yorkshire CCC demutualisation voting

Leeds Central and Headingley’s Alex Sobel said the Financial Conduct Authority must block the "outrageous" plan.

Chairman Colin Graves believes that by turning Yorkshire from a members’ club into a private company owned by shareholders it will prevent the financial mismanagement that has laden the county with debt.

He is confident this will trigger investment into the club, which will help keep international cricket at Headingley and raise funds for the recreational game.

For demutualisation to prevail, 75 per cent of the membership must vote for it from a minimum 50 per cent turnout.

There are 5,000-plus voting members, however less than 2,000 of those have full memberships that entitle them to attend every one of the county’s first class, one day and T20 games.

Mr Graves told the club’s recent annual general meeting that only “all in” members should be allowed to vote, and this motion was carried by the members.

This has meant the remaining 3,000 members, whose packages only cover white ball games or a set number of days of first-class cricket, will not vote on demutualisation.

The FCA is the regulator of co-operative societies like Yorkshire and is regularly in contact as a matter of course.

It previously told Mr Sobel it takes matters around demutualisation “seriously”.

The Labour MP said that if some members were excluded it would “permanently tarnish” the historic club.

He said: "I am extremely concerned that up to 3,000 members could be excluded from any vote to demutualise Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

"I have received reports from those attending the AGM that club chair Colin Graves stated that this change would be his personal preference.

"It would be outrageous if these members were stripped of their voting rights.”

"The FCA should refuse to allow YCCC to go ahead with plans that discriminate against thousands of members,” he added.

"Disenfranchising so many people would be viewed as an attempt to bulldoze through the privatisation of the club.

"It could also permanently tarnish the reputation of this iconic and historic sporting institution.

"The FCA therefore would be fully justified in stopping this plan in its tracks."

It is understood that the immediate need for demutualisation has cooled since Mr Graves first proposed it in 2024.

At that point, Yorkshire was expected to record another £2m loss and was braced for further deficits in 2027 and 2028, when Headingley does not have a Test match.

However, since then, the county has sold the entire stake in its Hundred franchise Northern Superchargers to the Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad, with Yorkshire set to bank £60m.

The Yorkshire Post understands that the club’s leadership team has made a number of offers for Mr Sobel to be briefed at Headingley.

The demutualisation project is part of an overall 10-year strategy, and it is understood that the club remains keen to engage with the MP and all stakeholders.