Colin Graves takeover approved by members at Yorkshire EGM،
Colin Graves' takeover of Yorkshire has been approved by club members at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) at Headingley. Pending regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, he will become chairman of a new board.
Graves, who chaired the club from 2012 to 2015, warned members that the consequences of his failed bid to refinance the club would be “far-reaching” and could include administration or insolvency. He needed the support of two-thirds of the members present and obtained 88.3% of the valid votes cast.
His previous term covered part of the period when Yorkshire were fined £400,000 for failing to address the systemic use of racist or discriminatory remarks, and Graves apologized “personally and unreservedly” to victims of institutional racism in Yorkshire last month.
He was criticized by the ECB last year after dismissing previous allegations of racism as “jokes”, but the governing body has since described his return as Yorkshire's “only viable option” and encouraged him to continuing the club's recent work to make cricket a more inclusive sport. .
The club said in a statement: “Yorkshire County Cricket Club Limited (YCCC) is pleased to announce that the special resolution was passed at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in the Long Room at Headingley on Friday February 2, 2024. was successful.
“A special resolution was passed during the meeting, the resolution being adopted by the members. The result of the vote for the special resolution to make a number of changes to the rules of the Club required in relation to a proposed refinancing of Colin Graves as set out in the notice of the was announced, with members voting in favor of the rule changes.
A total of 746 members voted for the resolution, while 99 voted against and 48 invalid or void votes were discarded.
Graves will be joined on the Yorkshire board by three other members of the consortium whose offer of emergency funding to the club was voted on: Phillip Hodson, the Yorkshire-born former MCC chairman; Sanjeev Gandhi, former non-executive director of The Hundred, and Sanjay Patel, a long-serving ECB executive who left his role as chief executive of The Hundred last summer.
Under the terms of the deal, Yorkshire will receive an immediate injection of £1 million, followed by a further investment worth £4 million. Graves' initial involvement with the club came in similar financial circumstances in 2002, when as founder of the Costcutter supermarket chain, his bailout plan saved them from bankruptcy.
His family trust, which is managed by independent trustees, still owes the club almost £15million.
Graves has been invited to give evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee next month, with committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP saying last month that his return “risks undermining the progress made so far.” 'now”.
