Lancashire confident of return to profit
The completion of construction work at Lancashire County Cricket Club next month will mark a financial turning point, according to finance director Lee Morgan.
The club is "confidently" predicting a return to profitability in the current financial year after significantly reducing net debt and despite making an operating loss of just over £1.5m for the year ended 31 December 2012.
Major construction activity at Old Trafford commenced in late 2008 and reached its peak in 2012, with nearly three quarters of the site under reconstruction.
As well as disruption caused by building work, the club also suffered as a result of last summer's poor weather.
Despite the loss, net debt was reduced by more than £3.1m.
The £45m transformation of Emirates Old Trafford includes The Point convention centre, new grandstands, a players and media Centre and a new members' pavilion.
The new-look ground is being built by Morgan Sindall.
Morgan added: "When we embarked on this journey back in 2007 with the creation of our detailed business plan, we knew we had many obstacles to overcome; however, nobody could have foreseen how high and how many there were going to be, much of which is well documented.
"Rebuilding nearly an entire stadium on an existing site whilst still trading throughout is fraught with risk and stacked with difficulty, but was absolutely necessary to protect the history, the heritage and most importantly the future of this great venue."
