Review of English cricket ownership model advised amidst private investment in The Hundred

Trevor Watkins of Pinsent Masons led a fan buy-out of AFC Bournemouth in 1997. Heralded as the first example of community ownership, he took the club out of receivership when it was mid-table in the third-tier of English professional football, and transformed the ownership model of the football club. Successfully balancing fan membership with significant private investor interests, his work led to a widespread series of similar changes across professional football, including at Brentford FC, Luton Town FC and AFC Wimbledon. Today, AFC Bournemouth sit in seventh place in the Premier League, outperforming several larger clubs in England.

According to Watkins, the successful investment model he helped put in place at AFC Bournemouth and across many sports subsequently can be applied in cricket, to help not only safeguard the future of the sport amidst financial challenges but to enable investment in infrastructure and talent.

Currently, of the 18 ‘first-class’ county cricket clubs in England and Wales, two are completely privately owned – Hampshire and Northamptonshire – and a third, Durham, is more than 90% privately owned. The remaining 15 clubs are owned by members. In 2024, Yorkshire announced its intention to move to a private ownership model, citing financial pressures as a key driver, but those plans are now reportedly on hold.

In a bid to drive new income streams for cricket in recent years, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the national governing body for the sport, has sought to innovate, creating an entirely new competition called The Hundred. This short-form competition involves eight teams based at venues operated by eight of the 18 county clubs. Last year, the ECB reached a deal with all 18 clubs that will enable a minority 49% stake in the eight franchises to be sold. Under the agreement, the finance raised will be distributed across all 18 clubs, while the eight ‘host’ clubs will be free to sell all or a part of their remaining 51% stake in the respective franchises.

Given that the vast majority of county clubs are owned by members through mutual structures, discussion around demutualisation in cricket is the focus of talks going on regarding potential fresh investment in The Hundred.

There has, though, been some opposition to the idea of demutualisation in cricket, with concerns centred on the potential for member interests to be sidelined under a private ownership model and over a potential loss of transparency over funding arrangements and the way clubs will be operated.

Watkins said the concerns of members are legitimate and that it is essential that they are addressed while shifting to a private ownership model. The need to do so is heightened where, as Watkins has experienced, investor clients are approaching him with a view on whether to not only seek to buy into a Hundred franchise but to seek a majority stake in a county side.

“It makes sense for an investor to look at the wider picture,” Watkins said. “Buying into a county as well as into The Hundred offers an investor a better chance to help direct the future of cricket and arguably demonstrate value. Given that the county will itself receive a significant interest in The Hundred through its ownership of the venue that hosts the franchise, the route to investment via a county is highly attractive and beyond the simple acquisition of a stake in a team in The Hundred”

“Whatever route is followed, however, the views of the members are critical to the success of this new investment. It is important to ensure that those elements that of paramount importance to members are protected. In football, this has included reassurance around the history, location, name and rights associated with a club. Cricket will also look to the experiences of other sports which have introduced investment with varying degrees of success, particularly rugby, in trying to ensure that a long-term sustainable future is secured – not just for the existing venues hosting The Hundred but for the much broader cricketing family,” he said.

With vast amounts of interest globally from both well-known investors in the sector and others that are new to cricket, Watkins advocates a careful balancing act: “We certainly view the sector as an attractive opportunity for investors. This goes beyond those eight venues that at this stage host The Hundred. We’ve seen interest from many US contacts, the Middle East and India, in particular. The key theme, however, particularly working with stakeholders across cricket, is that balancing an evolution in ownership with the introduction of new investment will be critical to the long-term success of the project.”