By Andrew Gidley

Kent County Cricket Club have announced huge losses of £802,452 for year ending October 31 2009, an increase of more than £110,000 on the previous year.

The figures include losses of £190,000 on the two summer pop concerts and £150,000 paid out in redundancy and staff settlements, and “a number of items amounting to £140,000 relating to earlier years, which we have to accept are now payable or irrecoverable which include bad debts and certain VAT payments.”

New treasurer Simon Philip, presenting his first report since succeeding Alister Dunning, blames the losses on the “continued delay of the club’s redevelopment scheme and the most difficult trading conditions for generations which wreaked havoc on our finances.”

Overall revenues were up 11 per cent to almost £500,000, figures including concert receipts. Match income went up to nearly £150,000, up 27.5 per cent which included the home Twenty20 quarter-final, the England Lions game against Australia, better weather and concerted efforts by the marketing team to boost attendances. Revenues from the ECB went up by just over 20 per cent.

Mr Philip added: “Lessons clearly need to be learned from the sorry tale of the past few years…..and to this end a five-year financial plan, which accepts that it may be some time before healthy economic conditions return, is now being constructed to make sure we get the balance right. Managing this balance will not be straightforward.”

Members will get their chance to air their views on another set of poor figures at the annual meeting on Monday March 29 at the St Lawrence Ground, which is being held two weeks later than usual.

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