Northants members vote to restructure club ownership

Northamptonshire members will vote at an Extraordinary General Meeting this evening on plans to change the ownership structure of the club.

The club's directors have proposed a resolution that would see members cede control of the club in favour of a limited company, NCCC Holdings. The directors say such a move is necessary to encourage much-needed investment in the club. They require 75 per cent of the vote to see the resolution passed. Proxy votes have been accepted, but there is no facility for postal voting.

Northants has sunk heavily into debt in recent seasons. As well as two separate loans of around £1m each to the local council, it is also understood that several hundreds of thousands of pounds have been lent by directors at interest rates of up to 7%. While the club have yet to reveal the identity of the potential new investors (and there is some doubt as to whether some of the money would be 'new' or involve existing debt being transferred to share options), they have suggested they are hoping to raise around £1m.

Existing club members will also have the opportunity to buy shares with a minimum subscription of £250. Those that decline can continue to purchase season tickets, but will no longer be entitled to vote at club meetings. They will be allowed to elect a representative to the board, but the board will be able to veto this representative if they deem them unsuitable.

One of the chief concerns of members will be the plans of new investors for the county ground in its town-centre location. ESPNcricinfo has previously revealed that the club not only had the Wantage Road site valued, but had plans drawn up for a new ground on the outskirts of town. With planning permission, the ground was estimated to be worth around £12m (without planning permission, it was worth around £4.5m), though costs for a new ground were estimated to be around £15m. Several members of the Northants board have a background in property development. The ESPNcricinfo story was originally denied by the club but confirmed by the council.

Club directors hope that hastily amended articles of association - there have been three drafts in the last week or so - will win over the doubters. Whereas, as recently as Monday morning, the articles of association stated that the new company "may not sell" the ground, they allowed several potential caveats. Among them was the requirement that the company "acquire an interest in a replacement site ... or to repay the debts or to satisfy other obligations of the company … or to repay monies actually received by the company by way of share subscriptions (and a reasonably [sic] rate of return on those share subscriptions)."

The new articles of association state that "The company may not itself redevelop, sell, grant a long lease, or otherwise voluntarily allow the ownership of the whole or a material part of the freehold of the County Ground to pass out of the ownership or control of both the company and NCCC Limited in a manner which is detrimental to the continuance of professional cricket at the County Ground without both: a special resolution of the shareholders; and in addition a special resolution of those Season Ticket Holders who cast their vote at an AGM."

The amendments were made after the intervention of former Wisden editor, Matthew Engel. As a long-time supporter of the club, he expressed concern in the original wording ("There is absolutely no protection for the ground," he told BBC Northampton last week. "There is nothing stopping them turning it into a cheese factory") and helped the club re-draft the relevant section. He remains undecided, though, and has told ESPNcricinfo he will attend the meeting unsure which way he will vote.

The vote has a wider significance given the on-going debate into the future structure of domestic T20 cricket in England and Wales. Whereas a members' club might be expected to resist marginalisation by a new premier competition, a shareholder-run company - a company that may pay dividends and look for a monetary return on its investment - might be expected to take a more pecuniary stance.

Whatever Northants' financial struggles, the club continues to contribute to the overall strength of English cricket on the pitch. As well as winning the NatWest T20 Blast competition for the second time in four years a few weeks ago, Northants has also helped produced several high-class players (not least David Willey, Ben Duckett and Olly Stone) who could go on to enjoy long international careers.