2021 ANNUAL REPORT

MINUTES OF THE 2021 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 51 whilst there will always be diversity of thought, the support shown through this most difficult year had demonstrated that the club could pull together as one when required. Mr Tennant was looking forward to hearing again from the Prime Minister regarding the extent to which the country could ease out of the lockdown. He hoped that the following season would bring some normality, especially with such an exciting fixture list for both inter- national cricket and the domestic game. Whilst the club was facing a number of alternative scenarios, MrTennant remained confident that it would meet any challenges and would continue to thrive in years to come. 5. TO RECEIVE AND ADOPT THE ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR 2020 ClubTreasurer, Mr P J Ellis, directed members to the accounts of the club for the year ended 30 September 2020, which were set out on pages 28 to 43 of the 2020 Annual Report as well as his written report on pages 26 and 27. On pages 29 and 30 of the accounts was the Independent Auditor’s Report, which stated that in their opinion the financial statements: • Gave a true and fair view of the state of the club’s affairs as at 30 September 2020 and of its surplus for the year then ended; • Had been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and • Had been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Co-operative and Community Benefits Act 2014. Mr Ellis explained that, when Covid-19 struck, the club had to react quickly to ensure survival and that a sub-committee of the General Committee had been formed, meeting via Zoom on a weekly basis with decisions taken based on the following principles: • Preserving the long-term viability of the club and its ability to offer employment into the future; • Minimising the short to medium term difficulties for the club’s people; and • Delivering the best possible service to the club’s members and supporters. Mr Ellis explained that the turnover trends demonstrated a large year- on-year reduction in income, which was entirely down to the Covid-19 pandemic. He stated that total income for the year had reduced by £3.4 million, a 27% reduction on the 2019 figures. This was as a direct result of the pandemic and could have been far worse were it not for the support of the ECB, the members who had kindly donated their fees and the continued support of many of the club’s sponsors. The biggest reduction was in commercial income, down by over £3.5 million, an 82% reduction on the previous year.This reflected the complete loss of the club’s catering and hospitality function for the duration of the cricket season and also included the loss of the use of Restaurant Six for the periods when it was unable to open under govern- ment guidelines. Mr Ellis explained that cricket income had reduced by £1.5 million (26%), and that the achieved level of income had only been possible because theTest Match and One Day International ticket income was largely covered by insurance.Were it not for this, the club’s financial posi- tion would have been much worse. Mr Ellis highlighted that the club had been very fortunate to see a year-on-year increase of £1.8 million (85%) in grants, donations and other income.This consisted of circa £1 million in Furlough payments from the government and £351,000 from members who donated their annual membership fees for 2020 to the club. Extra monies were also received from the ECB as additional support to assist during the difficult period. Mr Ellis commented that, overall, a significantly better level of income for the year had been achieved than was anticipated at the onset of the pandemic. In relation to expense movements, Mr Ellis stated that, in total, expenditure was down by £3.55 million, a reduction of 29% from the year to 30 September 2019. The biggest reduction had been £1.8 million in Ground, Facilities and Match Expenditure, a 50% decrease on the previous year. With all expenditure headings, Mr Ellis stated the importance of appreciating that for six months of the year, October 2019 to March 2020, the club had traded normally. Mr Ellis pointed out that the Professional Cricket and Academy costs had increased by approximately £24,000 (1%) on 2019 figures. However, he explained that this did not reflect the fact that the club had originally budgeted for a 10% increase in this figure to include new minimum wage levels and investment in younger players through the new Rookie Contracts. In reality, there had been a 9% saving on the budgeted costs. Mr Ellis explained that this heading also included match expenses and hotel and travel costs, all of which showed substantial savings on the budget. Mr Ellis summarised the year by recalling that, at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, the club was faced with the possibility of a huge financial loss of up to £4 million. In the months that followed, the club had been able to move on an upward trajectory from that figure to a small surplus of £167,000 before tax. The key contributing factors to the recovery in summary had been: the government Furlough scheme, salary sacrifice by players and staff, member donations, ECB grants, business rate relief and the con- tinued support of sponsors and partners. Mr Ellis ended by commenting that the club’s eventual surplus was