Lancashire Cricket announces £4.7m operating profit
Lancashire Cricket has announced an operating profit of £4.7 million (£5.3 million in 2023) – after exceptional items – for the year ended 31 December 2024, a record for the Club during a non-Ashes year. The Club reported a turnover of £34.1 million (£36.5 million in 2023) and a surplus before taxation of £0.2 million for the year.
Income from international and domestic cricket was lower in 2024 compared to 2023, with the previous year featuring an Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford. In 2024, two major matches – an Australia IT20 and the Roses T20 – were affected by poor weather and subsequently rained off. August, however, saw 55,000 spectators attend the Sri Lanka Test Match at the venue.
The Club sold 57,148 tickets for the Vitality Blast, which included a Roses sell out, whilst Lancashire had 7,483 Members in 2024.
Construction started in 2024 to create Lancashire Cricket’s second home in the heart of the county in Farington. The Club - in collaboration with Lancashire County Council – are building a professional cricket oval and a community cricket oval alongside a net facility and an indoor pavilion, with viewing facilities, which will all serve both professional and community cricket. The ground will be open in 2026.
Emirates Old Trafford’s hotel, conference, and events revenues continued to grow in 2024, increasing by 19% compared to 2023. Following the completion of the hotel extension in October 2023, the on-site Hilton Garden Inn operated for the first full year with 250 bedrooms. Notably, hotel revenue exceeded international cricket revenue for the first time in the Club’s history.
The venue also hosted three nights of concerts in June 2024, featuring performances by the Foo Fighters (two nights) and Green Day (one night), attracting a total of 150,000 concertgoers to Emirates Old Trafford.
In February 2025, Lancashire Cricket announced that the Club had entered into exclusive negotiations with the RP-Sanjiv Goenka (RPSG) Group, who have agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Manchester Originals. The Club has also agreed to sell 21% of its gifted 51% stake from the ECB to the RPSG Group, in addition to the ECB selling its 49% stake.
Looking ahead to 2025, Emirates Old Trafford is set to host a strong international summer, including a Men’s Test Match between England and India, a Men’s IT20 between England and South Africa, and the return of international women’s cricket to the venue, for the first time in over a decade, as England take on India in a Women’s IT20. Memberships have increased to over 9,000 in 2025, whilst tickets for the venue’s major matches this summer are selling well, particularly for the Men’s India Test Match.
Angela Lowes, Chief Financial Officer at Lancashire Cricket, said: “Following another incredibly busy twelve months at Lancashire Cricket and Emirates Old Trafford, I would like to place on record my thanks to all our staff for their hard work and dedication in delivering a wide range of events - both cricket and non-cricket - helping to ensure we were well equipped to handle the challenges that came our way.
“The Annual Report for 2024 shows very strong revenue from our non-cricket events, including the first full year of the on-site Hilton Garden Inn hotel operating at full capacity. This highlights the importance of a diversified business model - especially in a year when cricket revenue was impacted by factors beyond the Club’s control.
“The weather disruptions to the Men’s IT20 and Roses T20 significantly affected our cricket income, while, as anticipated, the Men’s Test against Sri Lanka drew less interest compared to the high-profile Men’s Ashes Test in 2023.
“With the anticipated completion of the investment from the RPSG Group this summer, we can look forward to an exciting future. The investment will help secure the long-term stability of Lancashire Cricket, allowing us to reduce debt to a sustainable level and invest further into the cricket department, member facilities, and infrastructure projects at both Emirates Old Trafford and Farington.”
Click here to read the Annual Report, which includes a detailed breakdown of the Club’s financial performance and will be presented to Members later today for approval at the Annual General Meeting.