This post unveils the prestigious Bentley Forbes Consulting county financial rankings for "2020" based on accounts for periods ended between 30 September 2020 and 31 January 2021. The 2019 rankings are here and if you are really interested you can get back to 2017. There are only 16 counties below, with Hampshire and Middlesex excluded from the table. Hampshire because they are a part of Rod Bransgrove's business interests and Middlesex, because they can't do anything right - including filing accounts within statutory time limits.
The approach is to rank each county by two measures, one the average profit (or loss) made over the last 3 years and the second a measure of balance sheet strength. Then I've used those two measures to get an overall financial stability ranking. Hang onto your hats and lock your pets in the back room, because here come the Bentley Forbes Consulting rankings for 2020.
| County | Profit | Assets | Ranking | Position | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derbyshire | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | Up 8 |
| Northhants | 9 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Up 3 |
| Notts | 4 | 7 | 5.5 | 3 | Up 1 |
| Lancashire | 1 | 12 | 6.5 | 4 | Up 8 |
| Kent | 12 | 1 | 6.5 | 4 | Up 2 |
| Essex | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | Down 3 |
| Surrey | 2 | 13 | 7.5 | 7 | Down 7 |
| Somerset | 6 | 10 | 8 | 8 | Down 5 |
| Gloucestershire | 7 | 11 | 9 | 9 | Up 4 |
| Sussex | 15 | 3 | 9 | 9 | Down 3 |
| Yorkshire | 3 | 16 | 9.5 | 11 | Up 4 |
| Glamorgan | 16 | 4 | 10 | 12 | Down 6 |
| Durham | 13 | 9 | 11 | 13 | Up 1 |
| Leicestershire | 14 | 8 | 11 | 13 | Down 2 |
| Worcestershire | 10 | 14 | 12 | 15 | Down 6 |
| Warwickshire | 11 | 15 | 13 | 16 | Level |
The counties were reporting results in the midst of the pandemic and at first glance would seem to have suffered. My measure of net debt blew out to £109m for 2020 compared to £95m at 2019. However, a lot of that increase was down to Surrey's investment in the Oval, Surrey's net debt position increased by £26m, so remove Surrey from the figures and net debt decreases by £12m. Surrey's worsening position is, in a way, a reflection of how I calculate net debt. Generally I deduct assets from debt including creditors to get net debt, but I don't do this for fixed assets such as stands etc. as it is hard to convert them into ready cash. Surrey decided, the midst of a pandemic was a good time to expand the Oval the cash spent is reflected in net debt but not the new stands.
Other than Surrey, only Essex, Warwickshire and Northants had more net debt at 2020 than they had at 2019.
It's not surprising most counties improved their financial position in 2020. The general deal is that the counties are financed by the ECB in return for running county championship and 50 over sides. With ECB funding continuing, only a shortened Bob Willis 4 day competition and the added assistance of government furlough payments 2020 wasn't a bad year financially for most counties, even allowing for a curtailed Blast.
What follows is a quick county by county summary of 2020 financial performance.
Derbyshire
They may not have won the county championship since 1936 and haven't won anything since the Sunday League in 1990 but Derbyshire sit proudly athwart the prestigious Bentley Forbes Consulting rankings for 2020. Secret to their success was fees paid to them by the ECB for being the base for the Pakistani squad who did so much to bail out English cricket in 2020. This left Derbyshire with a profit of over £600k for the period and that plus what has always been a secure balance sheet was enough to push them into (joint) first place.
Northants
They have never won the county championship and have remained potless since winning the 20/20 competition in 2016 but Northants sit proudly joint athwart the prestigious Bentley Forbes Consulting rankings for 2020. Secret to their success was a 2018 buy in by a group of members which allowed the county to repay outstanding bank debt. The bank debt was replaced by a loan from a top company controlled by the buy in members, which doesn't count towards my net debt figure.
Notts
A Financially stable county who generally make a profit and seem to get a good deal from Nottingham council for ground improvements.
Lancashire
One time cellar dwellers in the Bentley Forbes rankings who seem to finally be making use of their Old Trafford location. Like Derbyshire benefited from additional ECB payments in 2020, in their case for staging Test matches. Still a slight question mark about the amount of debt on the balance sheet.
Kent
Now part of county cricket's stable middle class. Don't make much money but a solid enough balance sheet and they pay down some debt each year.
Essex
Did a mini Surrey and began ground improvements in the midst of a pandemic. Seem a generally well run county and although ground improvements will see them fall in my table, they should begin to rise again once the new stands are in use
Surrey
Pandemic? What pandemic. Surrey sank an additional £30m into the Oval in 2020 with (I think) more to come in 2021. If I was their Financial Director I wouldn't be able to sleep but they have proved themselves astute in previous years and, hopefully, this will work out too. There is though a wider issue, £30m is what the ECB spend on grass roots cricket in a year, at some point Surrey will have to think about what they are for, are they going to invest in people or build the Oval out of gold.
Somerset
Generally one of county cricket's solid financial performers. Recent years though have seen profits decline and net debt of over £3m is high for a county with few international matches.
Gloucester
Solid balance sheet and generally make a small profit. A well run county.
Sussex
One of a number of counties who regard developing young cricketers as a profit centre rather than a responsibility. Particularly disgraceful given their strong asset position with an ongoing redevelopment of what was the Cricketers pub.
Yorkshire
Like Lancashire pulling away from what seemed like a permanent position towards the bottom of my table. Profits have been good in recent years which is just as well as they still have one of the worst balance sheet positions. Remains to be seen how the exposure of endemic racism in the county's management and players impacts on the financial position.
Glamorgan
Have a relatively strong balance sheet, thanks to coming to an agreement with creditors (including Cardiff council) and the payment of an additional contribution from the ECB, dressed up as a payment for not bidding for Test matches. The same deal the ECB did with Durham, but, oddly, with none of the on field penalties Durham suffered.
Durham
Speaking of Durham, 2020 was a distinctly good year for them, with a profit of £360k. They even paid back some of the council's preference shares although that isn't reflected in my ratings - which don't count the preference shares as debt.
Leicestershire
Another county to benefit from an ECB bailout without any of the unpleasant consequences suffered by Durham. The ECB came to the rescue again in 2020, advancing cash which is accounted for as accrued income. Leicestershire's biggest problem is that they are in a perennial loss making position.
Worcestershire
Big fallers in this year's table with a high level of debt and decent but not remarkable profitability. To some extent their fall is more the result of Lancashire and Yorkshire getting stronger than any worsening in their own position.
Warwickshire
Generally my financial strength league has been quite close to the county championship standings with Surrey, Essex and Somerset all doing well both on and off the field. But 2021's county championship winners come bottom of the prestigious Bentley Forbes Consulting financial rankings. Warwickshire are my county and get covered, a lot, in this blog. Warwickshire are the financial weaklings of the county championship, like Leicestershire, consistent loss makers.
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