Middlesex are exploring a possible sale of shares in the club amid an explosion of interest in English cricket from outside investors following the Hundred auction.
The Lord’s-based club have engaged the gaming and sports investment specialists Oakvale Capital to conduct a review of its ownership, with a move to being owned privately and a partial sale among options thought to be on the table. A number of potential investors have already been sounded out ahead of the formal appointment of Oakvale, which will take place on Wednesday.
Related: Ben Stokes to skip the Hundred in order to focus on England’s Ashes tour
Middlesex have been a member-owned club since being founded in Islington in 1864 before moving to Lord’s 13 years later. The traditional ownership model of English cricket is under increasing pressure, however, because of rising financial costs of recruiting players in a sport dominated by global Twenty20 leagues, as well as increased interest from overseas investors.
Durham, Hampshire and Northamptonshire are the only privately owned country clubs at present, but that appears destined to change. Yorkshire appointed Oakwell Sports Advisory last year to help them with demutualisation – the process through which a club converts from being member-owned to being owned by shareholders. This was paused during the Hundred auction – while this month Leicestershire appointed Pinto Capital with a view to selling a stake.
Leicestershire are understood to have had approaches from a dozen interested parties already, with Indian businesses in particular attracted by the thought of investing in a city where more than 30% of the population has Indian heritage. There has also been interest from Saudi Arabia.
The unexpectedly high sale prices in the Hundred auction, which raised £520m for the sport with the eight franchises valued at over £975m, has sparked renewed interest in English cricket from investors who missed out or declined to bid.
Steve Smith is joining Welsh Fire as the Hundred's retained players and new signings were announced on Tuesday. Smith said in a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board: "I'm delighted to be joining Welsh Fire later this summer.
"I was due to be involved with the Hundred at the beginning of the competition so it's great to finally be able to make it to Wales. I've watched The Hundred from afar and I can't wait to be involved. It looks a lot of fun and obviously the cricket is world class, with talent at every team.
"I'm looking forward to trying out a new format and hopefully playing my part for [the head coach] Mike Hussey and the rest of the boys."
Also among the new signings are Smith's compatriots Meg Lanning (Oval Invincibles), Megan Schutt (Birmingham Phoenix) and Marcus Stoinis (Trent Rockets), New Zealand's Trent Boult (Birmingham Phoenix) and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan (Oval Invincibles).
England players retained include Jos Buttler (Manchester Originals), Joe Root (Trent Rockets), Harry Brook, Adil Rashid (both Northern Superchargers), Nat Sciver-Brunt (Trent Rockets) and Sophie Ecclestone (Manchester Originals).
It is the first time teams have been able to sign one men's and one women's player directly, rather than having to do do through the Hundred Draft.
The retentions and signings saw 148 places confirmed across the squads, with 68 left to fill.
The draft takes place on 12 March, with a final chance to make squad additions coming in May at the Wildcard Draft, where teams can add two final men's and women's players, rewarding standout performers in domestic cricket. PA Media
The Lord’s-based Hundred franchise London Spirit fetched the highest price in the auction, with a consortium including the India-born chief executives of Google and Microsoft valuing the team at £295m, and Middlesex’s long association with the home of cricket makes the club particularly attractive to overseas investors.
As long-term tenants of Marylebone Cricket Club the possibility of the MCC buying into Middlesex has been mooted on numerous occasions, although as both are member-owned clubs the process would be more complex. Securing private investment from the likes of the Google/Microsoft consortium should theoretically be more straightforward, although it would still require the endorsement of Middlesex’s 7,000 members. Under club rules at least half of the membership would be required to vote for a demutualisation ballot to be valid, with a 75% majority needed for the motion to go private to be passed.
Middlesex will receive a £20m divided from their share of the Hundred sale which will provide security after several years of losses, but senior figures at the club are convinced that the chance to attract outside investment triggered by the auction is too good to miss. The club’s financial position has improved as a result of cost-cutting in recent years and they posted their first profit since 2016 last year, which has enabled them to make the surprise signing of New Zealand batter Kane Williamson as their overseas player this summer.
Middlesex’s long-term future at Lord’s remains uncertain however, with just 12 months left on their lease. While they will continue to play at the ground, access is an increasing problem, which will increase further if the Hundred expands and the club require an additional venue.
Middlesex declined to comment but sources at the club said that demutualisation is not a short-term proposal.
