Northants Cricket club given £250,000 loan by borough council

Northamptonshire Cricket Club is seeking finance from a number of sources

Northants Cricket is to be given a loan of up to £250,000 by Northampton Borough Council.

The council agreed initially to lend the county club up to £100,000 to help it get on a "stable footing" , but said more could be made available.

The latest set of accounts for 2014 revealed the club made a loss of £305,636 on a turnover of £3.7m.

Northants Cricket has agreed to repay the loan within five years, but declined to comment on the deal.

Mary Markham, the Conservative leader of the council, said: "With over a century of tradition, the club is one of the oldest still playing in the County Championship, and a big part of life in Northampton.

"However, cricket is changing and that means the club must restructure off the pitch if they are to have a future on it."

Danielle Stone, leader of the council's Labour group, said it supported the loan, but that it needed to be closely monitored.