Published: 25/02/2010 11:40:22 | Modified: 25/02/2010 11:43:28
Author: Paul Bolton | All Contributors
Mills provides financial star turn at Edgbaston
It’s not often that the financial statement is the highlight of a county’s annual meeting but Warwickshire treasurer Steven Mills is quickly becoming the star turn at Edgbaston.
The Midlands businessman uses computer graphics to make a profit and loss account interesting and often uses his speech to make some pointed comments.
He did not disappoint at this year’s AGM in the Edgbaston Indoor Centre, warning that some non-Test Match counties would be casting envious glances at Warwickshire’s record profit of £1.15 million and warning the would-be critics to “shut up”.
Mills began by admitting that some non-Test Match counties would regard a profit of almost £1.2 million as excessive. But he pointed out that Warwickshire made a record loss of almost £900,000 in 2007 when Edgbaston did not host a Test match and that they could only expect to make a substantial profit during an Ashes series.
“Remember, there is a four-year cycle in international cricket and we only make significant profits when Australia are here,” Mills said. “We need to have that kind of money available to re-invest in our facilities.
“We need the money to be able to generate cash and convince people who are prepared to support us financially that they will get their money back. We need to demonstrate to a range of people that our business model is robust and will work in the difficult economic times we are suffering.
“But to anyone who knocks that kind of profit I would say very politely to them: ‘shut up’”.
Warwickshire are well advanced with the demolition work at Edgbaston that will clear the way for a new £30 million pavilion that is being built with loans of £20 million from Birmingham City Council and £10 million from Advantage West Midlands.
The local residents group who had mounted a vigorous legal challenge to the scheme have now admitted defeat and so all the legal hurdles have been overcome.
Relations with some local residents have been strained over the past year but Warwickshire have set up a residents’ liaison group in an attempt to rectify matters and to raise the profile of the good work that the county does do in the community.