SHAREHOLDERS MEETING REPORT
Chairman Dave Doggett was joined by Finance Director Steve Chamberlain and CEO Jez George to deliver a positive overview of the Club's accounts at the Annual Shareholders Meeting, with a surplus budgeted for 2016/17.
Shareholders were informed there had been a growth in revenue of 20% year on year from 2014/15, excluding the exceptional income generated from the FA Cup fixtures against Manchester United.
The Club is expecting to make a profit of approximately £1 million from its Business Operation in 2016/17, with Jez George highlighting a notable increase in the income generated from sponsorship and hospitality of 70% year to date compared to 2015/16. The growth in all aspects of the Club's Business Operation, and increases to central funding, has therefore reduced the reliance on gate receipts, which in 2016/17 is forecast to account for just 20% of turnover.
The addition of Stadium Sponsors Cambs Glass and Mundipharma as headline sponsors of the Club's Main Stand in the final quarter of 2015/16, ensured the club exited the last financial year as a break even business with a strong balance sheet. In fact Cambridge United are one of only 15 clubs in the EFL and Premier League to be operating sustainably without the need for a financial injection each year.
Meanwhile, exciting plans were also revealed of new long-term innovative revenue streams which include the launch of Summer Schools for Chinese youngsters, as well as the potential licensing of the "Active Science" programme currently being delivered in collaboration with AstraZeneca within primary schools across Cambridgeshire.
For further information you can watch interviews with Dave Doggett, Steve Chamberlain and Jez George here.