Showpiece stand and return of Ashes cricket will get Yorkshire back into profit

The club had predicted a challenging year but are confident of returning to “sustainable profitability” from this year onwards.

That confidence stems from various factors, including income/funding projections, debt repayment plans and the fact that catering and pouring rights at Emerald Headingley have now reverted to the club – part of their agreement with Leeds Rugby to build the showpiece Emerald Stand, which Yorkshire say will transform their business.

In addition, Yorkshire have the significant earners of a Test match against India in 2021 and an Ashes Test in 2023, while they are also one of the host venues for the new 100-ball competition starting next year.

In a statement, Mark Arthur, the Yorkshire chief executive, said: “The future for Yorkshire County Cricket Club looks really good both on and off the field.

“Whilst we’ve been competitive on the field for a number of years now, and produced players for the England setup, the financial situation has always been a concern.

“Now that we’ve started to repay the debt and we’ve got positive income streams in future years, we’ve created a sound foundation for the long-term prosperity of the club.”

Yorkshire repaid £1.8m of their £20m-plus debt in 2018, with a further £3.5m scheduled to be repaid this year.

Paul Hudson, the club’s finance director, said that the catering and pouring rights alone – which reverted to the club ahead of schedule – would have “a significant favourable impact on the financial results of the club going forward”.

He added: “This is the start of an exciting era for the club financially. Our agreements with Leeds City Council and various other partners relating to the new stand will allow us to move forward in a structured way.

“And after years which have seen significant investment in the ground and its facilities, followed by a period of financial stabilisation, the club is delighted to have paid back £1.8m to its lenders over the course of the year.”

Hudson said that the net result for the year was an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of goodwill of £515,000.

This represented a reduction compared to 2017 (£1,144,000), which Yorkshire said was caused by a reduction in funding from the ECB, as well as reduced capacity at Headingley due to the construction of the new stand which resulted in lower ticket/hospitality income.