Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Kent’s loss first in three years
Kent’s financial figures have seen the club post a loss for the first time in three years.
Figures for the year ending October 31, 2019, came out on Monday and showed an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) surplus of £217,754. After interest, depreciation and the net impact of other items, the deficit for the year after tax was £201,932, although the club insist that was in line with expectations, with the club’s turnover reaching £4.77million.
It is the first time Kent’s figures have shown a loss since they showed an EBITDA loss of £65,835 for the year ending 2016.
But seven Vitality Blast T20 home matches generated £150,000 for the club, even though two of their games were heavily affected by bad weather, with improvements in the customer experience resulting in substantial increases in food and drink takings on these evenings.
Kent Cricket chief executive officer Simon Storey said: “Achieving financial sustainability, while investing in our core business of cricket, will be the cornerstone of Kent Cricket’s strategy in the coming years.
“To achieve this, the club needs to further grow revenues through a diversified business model, continue to raise standards across all areas of the business and, at the same time, manage our cost base carefully.” During 2019, the club also hosted Pakistan in a one-day tourist match, as well as an England Women game against Australia Women in July and a four-day match between England Lions and Australia A in the same month.
The St Lawrence Clinic, Kent’s leading specialist clinic, saw an increase in turnover of 7.5% and profits increase by 19% to almost £85,000.
The club’s general meeting will be held at 7pm on Monday, April 6, at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.
■ Kent opener Zak Crawley has signed a contract extension.
The deal means the Bromley-born England international has committed his future to Kent until at least the end of their 2022 campaign. A product of the academy, Crawley made his debut in 2017 against Essex Eagles in the Royal London One-day Cup and has made 74 appearances, amassing 3,047 runs at an average of 32.07.
“Having played cricket in some capacity for my home county for nearly half of my life, I’m delighted to commit to Kent for at least three more seasons,” said Crawley.
“It feels like we’re beginning to build something special at Kent, and I want to play my part in establishing the club in (County Championship) Division 1 and challenging for trophies.”