Middlesex in advanced talks over funding for home away from Lord's

The Guardian

a day ago

Middlesex are in advanced negotiations with two international investment groups over a funding deal that would enable the club to build a permanent home away from Lord's. A source involved in the discussions said the proposals are not mutually exclusive, with a final decision to be made by the end of the year.
Uxbridge Cricket Club in west London is understood to be the preferred site for a new ground and training base, although Middlesex would aim to stage around 70% of their men's matches at Lord's.
Middlesex have been looking for external investment for about 18 months and in February appointed the gaming and sports investment specialists Oakvale Capital to conduct a review of its ownership. After that review Middlesex are understood to have resolved to seek a financial partnership that would enable them to build a new ground in London to accompany their tenancy at Lord's, rather than sell a stake in the club and take it into private ownership, a move that could have been blocked by their members.
Middlesex have received expressions of interest from a variety of global groups who are already invested in sport, including the NFL and Indian Premier League. The club have prioritised investors with a history in sport rather than private equity firms, with a number of funds from America having been rebuffed.
Middlesex are also in active discussions with Marylebone Cricket Club to extend their 12-month lease at Lord's, which expires at the end of the summer. While this is regarded as a formality, the financial terms have yet to be agreed.
The MCC remain committed to a landlord-tenant relationship with Middlesex that has run without interruption since 1877, but with the volume of domestic cricket increasing the availability of Lord's is a problem In addition to the rapid recent growth of women's cricket, with Lord's staging a women's Test match for the first time next summer, between England and India, from next year the MCC will also be running professional teams for the first time in their 238-year history in the form of London Spirit.
The MCC's partners in the Hundred, the so-called Tech Titans, have made it clear they will want more access to Lord's in return for their £151m investment, while the competition could also expand from its eight-team format, which would mean more matches. The England and Wales Cricket Board are also looking into staging women's matches as stand-alone events, which would put further demands on venues such as Lord's.
Middlesex have used Radlett and Merchant Taylors' school for County Championship, T20 Blast and One-Day Cup fixtures this season. Last year, they played two 'home' Blast games at Chelmsford in Essex last year, which made financial sense, but angered members. The club regularly used Uxbridge for Championship and one-day matches in the 1980s and 1990s, but have not played there since 2017 as the ground needs to be developed.
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In a separate development, Middlesex have begun work on a new venue for their women's and girl's operation in Brentford, which will open next year and will be used as a training base for national teams competing in the women's T20 World Cup.
Middlesex Women are in tier two of the new county set-up launched this year by the ECB, but hope to be promoted to an expanded tier one in 2029.
Middlesex declined to comment.