A letter from the club chair has outlined the grim financial picture at Headingley, with "swift and decisive action" required to keep them afloat
Colin Graves is pushing hard for privatisation at Yorkshire which he claims is "essential" to securing the club's future.
Accumulated losses of £9 million, a trading deficit of £2.7m in 2023, £20m of borrowing and two upcoming years without a men's Test leaves the club needing to take "urgent" action, according to the chair.
Graves returned to Headingley earlier this year after having a loan offer for the financially stricken club approved. He was subsequently re-elected as chair with the priority being "to resolve the financial position in which the club currently finds itself".
In a letter to members on Monday (May 20), Graves has outlined the gravity of Yorkshire's position - they apparently need another £5m to "ensure that it has a sustainable future" - and outlined a number of routes to salvation.
Graves says Yorkshire must take "urgent" action to arrest their financial issues (Getty Images)
Graves says "several credible potential funding partners" have been engaged. But he describes ECB proposals around the sale of teams in The Hundred as "speculation, without any guarantee" which Yorkshire "cannot rely on".
That view is despite The Cricketer understanding a funding model has been agreed upon by the 18 first-class counties and MCC.
Most notably, Graves says the club's member-owned status is a blockade to securing the financial backing required to cement the club's long-term future.
"A demutualisation – thereby converting the club to a private structure, which unlocks potential private investment – appears at this point essential for the club's future," he says.
Graves was questioned by MPs regarding his intentions at Yorkshire in February (Getty Images)
Towards the end of the letter, he urges members to "be open to engagement – including around demutualisation – to ensure that the worst outcome" is avoided.
Taking Yorkshire private has been on the table for a number of months. In January, Graves said that while there were "no discussions or plans to change the mutual status" of the club "nothing can be ruled out in the future".
That followed The Cricketer being shown a 'letter of intent' dated September 25, 2023, signed by Graves and sent to the club's board, suggesting Yorkshire will convert "from a mutual society into a private limited company" if his return was approved.
In response to the letter, Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds North West which covers Headingley, urged Yorkshire members to unite against Graves' attempts to make the club a private entity.
Alex Sobel MP (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
During February's session in front of the CMS select committee, of which Sobel is a member, the former ECB chair was questioned regarding his takeover and future intentions.
"I will oppose Mr Graves' attempt to take the club from members and make it a private entity as it will be done for profit and to weaken accountability and long-term viability," he said.
"Yorkshire members have been made many false promises over the last few months. I ask them to hold their nerve and oppose demutualisation until at least after the awarding of the Hundreds Franchise.
"I call on the ECB to keep their promises and assist Yorkshire members retain their club and investigate whether the board have breached the County Governance Code."
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