Leicestershire calm the financial storm

Leicestershire have emerged from a troubled financial period to announce a net profit for the second year in a row. They returned a net profit of £8,813 for the year ended September 30, 2016, following another small profit of £4,315 the previous year. This follows cumulative losses of more than £500,000 in the previous three years.

Total income reached a record £4.2m in 2016, with commercial revenue streams increasing overall by 35% to £1.465m - almost double the commercial return three years ago.

Leicestershire hosted a profitable Elton John concert and an exclusive evening with Lord Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England. In addition, a five-year Ground Naming Rights partnership was announced with Fischer Future Heat and permanent floodlights were installed as part of a £2.3m investment.

Wasim Khan, the chief executive, said: "The significant improvement in the financial performance of the club has been a real collective effort by everyone. This progressive trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future."

Leicestershire's results once again suggest that the smaller non-Test match grounds are often in better financial health than counties who must finance ambitious ground improvements at international venues.