Warwickshire County Cricket Club Annual General Meeting 27 February 2020 The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the MEMBERS of THE WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB was held in the Banqueting Suite at the County Ground, Edgbaston at 7.00pm on Thursday 27 February 2020 Present: The Rt Hon Earl of Aylesford (President) Mr Mark McCafferty (Chairman) Mr Andrew Burn Mr Craig Flindall (Chief Operating Officer) Mr Norman Gascoigne Mr Neil Snowball (Chief Executive) Mr Mike Williams In Attendance: Mr Andrew Williams – Ernst & Young (EY) Mr Steve Kirk – Ernst & Young (EY) Some 118 members 1. Apologies Apologies for absence were received from Messrs Baker, Dodge, Khan, McCabe, Wright, Mrs Leavesley and the Bishop of Birmingham. 2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 27 February 2019 The minutes were approved. 3. Presentations, including season awards 3.1 Mr Farbrace provided an overview of the Player awards, which had been presented at the End of Season Dinner, including those of the Warwickshire Access teams included for the first time. The winners of the awards were as follows: 1 Pathway Awards Coney Edmonds Trophy Ben Chapman-Lilley U19 Player Cyril Goodway (WOCCA) Trophy Manraj Johal U17 Player Graham Williamson Memorial Award Ashish Chakrapani U15 Player The Delphine Rowe Awards Hamza Shaikh & Salena Afzal Two most promising and deserving cricketers Neal Abberley Trophy Ethan Brookes & George Garrett For outstanding achievements Women & Girls Player of the Year Issy Wong Warwickshire Access Awards Coaches Player of the season Hannah Pettigrew Players’ Player of the season Phil Turton Women’s Senior Awards Second team Coaches Player of the season Alice Dixon Second team Players’ Player of the season Emily Perrin Coaches Player of the season Bethan Ellis Players’ Player of the season Marie Kelly Men’s Senior Awards Second team Player of the season Dan Mousley Young Player of the season Rob Yates Community Engagement & Outstanding Oli Stone Performance of the year Performance of the season Dom Sibley Player of the season Dom Sibley Players’ Player of the season Dom Sibley 2 3.2 Mr Farbrace presented a summary of the 2019 season, highlighting the contribution made by Chris Woakes to England’s ICC men’s Cricket World Cup success, Olly Stone’s first Test appearance for England and paid tribute to Bob Willis. He noted the frustration caused by the number of injuries within the squad during 2019 and the impact on performances. Mr Farbrace reported that the players and coaches were preparing well for the 2020 season, with an increased focus being placed on building resilience and strength within the squad to minimise injuries. It was noted that the return of Ian Bell would bring lots of experience back to the team, and the appointment of Will Rhodes as captain was a positive to take the Club forward. Mr Farbrace paid tribute to the outgoing captain Jeetan Patel and thanked him for his contribution and tireless commitment to the Club. The President wished the team the best of luck for the upcoming season and congratulated Club staff for the successful delivery of the ICC men’s Cricket World Cup and the Ashes. 4. Report & Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2019 4.1 The President proposed the adoption of the annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 September 2020. He invited the Club Chairman, Mark McCafferty, to second his proposal and to review the financial year in more detail. 4.2 Mr McCafferty acknowledged his new position as Chair and thanked his predecessor Mr Gascoigne for the support and guidance provided by him and his wife Carolyn. He also wished every success to Mr Snowball for his new role at the ECB, confirming that further information on the recruitment process for his successor would be communicated in due course. Mr McCafferty introduced a highlights video of the 2019 season. 4.3 Mr McCafferty referenced Mr Farbrace’s presentation on the cricket plans and approach for the season. He reinforced the Club’s need to systematically focus on all areas to deliver consistently high performance and to forge a winning mentality for Warwickshire and the Bears. 4.4 Mr McCafferty then moved onto the financials and the proposed approval of the 2019 Annual Report and Accounts. Firstly, Mr McCafferty reported that 2019 was a record year financially for the Club, with revenue increasing by 54% and costs increasing by only 28%. This resulted in an operating profit of £6.2m before Interest, Tax and Depreciation, up from £1.7m in 2018. It was further noted that careful management of cash flow meant the Club generated a net increase in cash of £2.4m in 2019, compared with the net decrease of £0.2m in 2018. 3 4.5 The principal liability on the Balance Sheet was noted as the loan from Birmingham City Council, which stood at £21.8m at the end of the financial year. The loan had been recently serviced on an interest only basis, with the next capital repayment of £2.1m due to be paid at the end of March 2020. Following this payment, the Club will return to an interest only payment schedule until the next capital repayment in March 2023. Mr McCafferty praised the success of the partnership with Birmingham City Council in hosting the Cricket World Cup and the intention to further build on this with the delivery of the Commonwealth Games in 2022. 4.6 Looking back at 2019, Mr McCafferty presented further detail on the primary driver for the increase in revenue, notably the 11 Major Match Days hosted at Edgbaston during the 2019 season. The five sold out matches of the ICC men’s Cricket World Cup, including England’s victory against Australia in the semi-finals, welcomed many international fans who experienced Edgbaston for the first time. It’s hoped many of these come back to watch Warwickshire, the Bears and the new Hundred team, Birmingham Phoenix. Whilst Fortress Edgbaston was breached on a rare occasion, a five-day Test was successfully delivered and demonstrated the continued appeal of Edgbaston to players and fans. Finals Day continued to go from strength to strength and it was reported that the 2020 event had sold out in record time. Mr McCafferty acknowledged that 2019 was a special year for English cricket, and he thanked all staff on behalf of the Members for their hard work, skills and dedication behind the scenes. 4.7 He noted that the strong financial results also closed off the current strategy period, and stressed the importance of striving for success, both on and off the pitch over the next strategic cycle between 2020-24. Mr McCafferty called for the Board and Members to provide the environment and support to allow the teams to build for success on the pitch. He also referenced the next phase of Edgbaston’s development leading up to the Commonwealth Games in 2022, alongside the planning required to prepare for the subsequent phases. Whilst the next two years financially cannot match 2019, Mr McCafferty reassured the Membership that careful budgeting and hard work to increase revenue streams would be a focus to ensure the Club continues to reduce its core debt. 4.8 Mr McCafferty thanked the membership on behalf of the Board for their time, commitment and support, and further expressed acknowledgement to the staff for making 2019 such a success. Mr McCafferty finished by seconding the adoption of the 2019 Report and Accounts. 4.9 The President then opened the meeting for questions on the Annual Report. The timing of the account’s publication was questioned and noted it wasn’t sufficient for members to review ahead of the AGM. Mr McCafferty acknowledged and took on board the comments. 4 A second member questioned why member numbers had not been reported in the accounts. Mr Snowball responded and confirmed that these wouldn’t be reported until the start of the season but indicated that sales were strong against a high water mark of 2019 for the Ashes, and that the Club were committed to growing numbers. It was noted that the stewarding services provided by G4S were outstanding, with clarification requested whether these staff were treated ethically and fairly through their employment. Mr Snowball confirmed the Club had increased wages to comply with minimum wage standards across all outsourced contracts. As a consequence, increased costs would be incurred, but the Club was committed to this. It was raised that there had been errors in mailing of information to Members, which Mr Snowball noted he would pick up internally. Mr Knight commended the Club on the fantastic facilities and coaching staff but highlighted the poor quality of the scoreboard as viewed from the Birmingham end. Mr Snowball again responded and acknowledged it was an area for improvement. The final question from the Members challenged the scheduling of the season, in particular the County Championship peaks during April and September. Mr McCafferty responded and acknowledged that it would require time with the ECB to address this over the longer term. 4.10 There were no more questions and the accounts were therefore put to a vote and were unanimously approved. 5. Elections 5.1 The Chairman thanked the Rt Hon. Earl of Aylesford for his support and proposed his re-election. This was seconded and unanimously approved. 5.2 By the recommendation of the Board, it was proposed that EY were re-elected as the Club’s auditors for another year. This was seconded and unanimously approved. 5.3 The President confirmed that Norman Gascoigne would be retiring from his position as an Elected Director of the Board, effective from the Meeting.