ECB initiates process to secure private investment in The Hundred
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has opened the process to secure private investment in The Hundred, the national cricket body has announced.
The ECB first revealed plans to seek private investment for the Hundred’s eight teams in May.
Currently, each of the 100-ball domestic cricket tournament’s franchises are owned entirely by the ECB.
Deloitte and the Raine Group, which serve as the ECB’s co-lead financial advisers, will help the organisation evaluate bidders, with law firms Latham & Watkins and Onside Law LLP also on board as legal counsels.
The ECB meanwhile will collaborate with each team’s host county club to assess prospective partners.
The ECB says further details on investment in The Hundred will be revealed in 2025.
According to the organisation, the funding will be distributed across amateur and professional cricket, and will support the further growth of women’s game, and the sport at grassroots level.
Vikram Banerjee, Director of Business Operations at the ECB, said, “Since announcing our intent to launch this process, we’ve received a phenomenal level of interest from a diverse mix of investors globally.
“Our priority over the coming months will be to select partners that share our passion and vision for the future of The Hundred, with expertise to take the competition to the next level.
“This marks the most significant private investment opportunity in the history of cricket in our country and there’s never been a better moment for partners to engage with our sport.”
During the 2024 Hundred season, which took place between 23rd July and 18th August, the Women’s Hundred set a global total attendance record for a women’s cricket competition, with 320,000 fans.
This year, cumulative attendance for the women’s competition eclipsed one million spectators, since the league first launched in 2021. During that time, the competition has amassed more than 2 million attendees across the men’s and women’s tournaments.
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