County cricket club pays off £1 million of debt to Northamptonshire council thanks to unexpected windfall

The county council gave the loan in 2014 to allow the club to invest in new facilities at the County Ground in Northampton.

The money was borrowed against one-off payments promised by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2018 and 2020 - and now the ECB has paid all first-class cricket clubs £1 million a year in advance of the first payment.

This means NCCC can now reduce its debt to the county council. The club had also been given the chance to loan £250,000 from Northampton Borough Council but it had not taken this up.

In a statement Ray Payne, chief executive of Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, said: “This unexpected early debt repayment to the county council not only reduces club debt significantly but also compliments the clubs aspirations to become a new limited company. Shares in the new company, NCCC Holdings are attracting a lot of interest from members and the Northamptonshire Business community.”

Gavin Warren, chairman, spoke of his “delight” to have been able to repay the council such a significant amount early.

He said: “I’d like to thank them for their continued support over the last three years. We are now well on the way to fulfilling the clubs aspirations of being debt free within the next four years.”