Derbyshire announce pre-tax budget surplus despite "unprecedented and unwelcome" 2020

The club lost over £1.8m in revenue from ticket sales, conferences and events but remain on course to be debt free by 2024 after recording a budget surplus for the second year in a row

Derbyshire CCC have announced a pre-tax budget surplus of £0.668m for 2020 despite the "unprecedented and unwelcome" conditions.

It is the second year in a row the club have reported a positive budget, following 2019’s result of £0.4m surplus.

Derbyshire had originally budgeted for a surplus of £0.55m before Covid-19 impacted a number of major revenue streams.

The club lost over £1.8m in revenue from ticket sales and being unable to host conferences and events.
However, they received £0.46m from the government’s job retention scheme and over £0.2m from the ECB for having a bio secure venue to limit their losses.

Significant savings were also made in several areas due to the club not having the expense of delivering matches/events, not having any overseas players in 2020 and not opening the Incora County Ground.

Commenting in the club’s annual report, chairman, Ian Morgan said: "If I could sum up 2020, I would say that what happened was unexpected, unprecedented and unwelcome. However, despite the adversity I am pleased to record the surplus we have, highlighting the magnificent response to the crisis by everyone at Derbyshire County Cricket Club both on and off the field.

"On behalf of everyone associated with the club, I would like to again thank our members and supporters for their exceptional generosity and support throughout the pandemic."

The club’s chief executive, Ryan Duckett, addressed the challenges of 2020, stating: "When the pandemic started to escalate at the end of March last year, we immediately had to change our business plan to protect the club in what was and continues to be a very uncertain time.

"The proactive decisions we took allowed us to minimise the impact of lost revenue as well as the fantastic support we had from our members and commercial partners.

"We were also able to play our part in protecting the international cricket schedule with The Incora County Ground hosting bio-secure training camps and matches for both men’s and women’s international teams."

"If I could sum up 2020, I would say that what happened was unexpected, unprecedented and unwelcome. However, despite the adversity I am pleased to record the surplus we have, highlighting the magnificent response to the crisis by everyone at Derbyshire County Cricket Club both on and off the field"

Meanwhile, Derbyshire’s head of finance, Tim Baker, confirmed the club’s plan to be debt free in the next three years remained intact.

"The two years of positive surpluses have improved the club’s balance sheet position and allowed us to show positive net assets, a healthy cash position and a reduced level of debt as we have strived to maintain our strategy of becoming debt free by 2024," he said.

"The club can be proactive and positive about the year ahead, but in what is still a Covid-hit year we must remain realistic that our core revenue streams will be dependent on the government’s roadmap and the return of spectators to sporting events, as well as a much-needed upturn in the hospitality and events sector."

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