2024 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2024 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 36 for reduced attendance at all counties with our game against Durham being rained off without a ball being bowled, and our fixture against Leicestershire heavily rain-affected. The tournament also took place amidst a congested sporting calen- dar, which included the T20World Cup and Euro 2024. Here at Trent Bridge, the combined effect of the above factors saw Blast matchday ticket sales and mem- bership fall £150k below budget expectations. Elsewhere, some static income lines have again been a factor to contend with. ECB Core Distribution, for example, has not moved materially in the last four years. Against this sometimes challenging backdrop we generated £18.1m of income in 2023-2024 (compared to £14.3m in 2023, £15.6m in 2022 and £14.1m in 2021). The accompanying chart highlights the main sources of income in the financial year ended 30 September 2024. As was the case last year, figures relating to retail, catering and hospitality are shown within their own income lines and are recorded separately to match receipts. We have continued to maximise the use of our venue outside of the cricketing calendar, building on the likes of the Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival and the Notts Street Food Festival, which not only generate profit but introduce a new, non-cricket audience toTrent Bridge.This strategy of diversifica- tion has proven successful and we aim to grow it further in the coming years. This is especially important consid- ering the fact that the club is, like many businesses, dealing with an exponential rise in its cost base. Utility costs have increased substan- tially and are at an all-time high. Increases in the minimum wage impact our matchday workforce costs, with the minimum wage rising by 9.7% in April 2023 and by 9.8% in 2024. However, we were granted retail relief against our non-domestic business rates, met all of our debt repayments for the financial year 2023-24, and we continue to reduce our debt held in loans with our local authorities, with that figure now standing at £4.8m. Ultimately, we were able to move from a pre-tax deficit of £0.99m for the year 2022-23 to a surplus of £0.64m in 2023-24; a complete overview of the financial results is shown within the full set of accounts on the subsequent pages of this report. As ever, our approach will be to consider our financial results for the year just ended as part of a multi- year cycle, in which the aim is to make the most of our successful seasons in order to provide resilience for our leaner years. A profitable cycle allows us to re-invest into the club and ensure our long-term prosperity. We have certainty in relation to our major matches in the coming years, with an extensive allocation of men’s and women’s internationals to be played at Trent Bridge between now and 2031, including two Men’s Ashes Tests. The Zimbabwe Test in 2025 starts a new five-year cycle, and next summer our Men’s Test will be joined by two international white- ball games including an England v IndiaWomen’s IT20. Notts’T20 Blast schedule features an increase in the number of Friday-night fixtures, more double-headers and GROUND RENTAL SHOP / TOURS MEMBERSHIPS SPONSORSHIP & ADVERTISING HOSPITALITY & EVENTS CATERING ECB DISTRIBUTION CRICKET DEVELOPMENT MATCH RECEIPTS 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 SOURCE S OF I NCOME £M