THE financial future for Yorkshire is rosy, despite losing almost £1.2m.

That is the message finance director Brian Bouttell will tell members at the club's annual meeting on March 25.

And although Yorkshire's membership dropped to 6,432, the good news is that twice as many spectators paid at the gate to watch their home matches than in the previous year, 31,469 paying £135,500.

Yorkshire's loss was almost entirely due to not staging a Test last year and not securing the purchase of Headingley until December 30 which gave the club a full year's overhead base but no income streams.

But now that Yorkshire have bought the ground their income will rise by £1m a year and Headingley is guaranteed international cricket until 2019.

Bouttell said he expected Yorkshire to make a surplus of around £300,000 this year and detailed budgets for the next 15 years showed that the club can repay all its indebtedness when it becomes due.

Yorkshire president, David Jones, boss of Next, is chairing a sub-committee aimed to get industry and businesses to contribute to the ground appeal and he will continue in this role when he steps down and is replaced by former England bowler, Bob Appleyard.

Cricket expenses of almost £2m were up by over £200,000, while wages and employment expenses rose from £1.2m to £1.4m.

New chief executive, Stewart Regan will join the Board as its only executive director and with David Ryder, will be responsible for finance, Geoff Cope, who retires by rotation will continue to be employed by the club.