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Six or Duck? Franchise Ownership and Equity-Sale Proceeds Distribution in ‘The Hundred’

With the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) finalising sales of its shareholdings in six of the eight franchises in The Hundred (and the final two ‘on track’ to be completed soon),¹ this article will explain the unusual ownership structure of the league’s teams and the distinctive distribution requirements of equity-sale proceeds, analysing whether the Hundred should provide a blueprint in these areas for the structuring of new sports leagues.

Cricket Match

12/08/25

What is The Hundred?

 

The Hundred is a short-format cricket competition in England and Wales, launched by the ECB in 2021. The game follows a newly created rule set, seen as a slight variation to the established T20 format.² The league comprises eight franchises, each featuring a men’s and a women’s team.

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The Hundred is a short tournament, played solely during August, thereby ensuring players can participate in other domestic and overseas cricketing competitions, while also maintaining international cricketing commitments.³

 

Importantly for franchise investors seeking to minimise risk, the Hundred operates as a ‘closed league’, meaning there is no chance of relegation to a lower, less-profitable division.

 

There are 19 first-class counties in English cricket (including the MCC, which is distinct from the others).⁴ These counties make up the ECB’s T20 Blast competition - the established premier cricket league in England and Wales. Each have enormous power and resources within domestic cricket, and the ECB knew it would need first-class counties to manage teams (and host matches in their stadiums) for the Hundred to have any chance of success.

 

However, with the ECB determining there was only space for 8 teams in their new league, 11 counties would inevitably be left out.

The Ownership and Equity-Sale Proceeds Distribution Model

 

At launch, the ECB allocated 51% ownership of each of the eight franchises to a host County Cricket Club, with the ECB retaining the remaining 49% (earmarked for future sale).⁵ 

 

All parties were required to retain their equity until an ECB-managed bidding process began (structured with the assistance of Deloitte and the Raine Group).⁶ This commenced in January 2025, with the ECB hoping the league’s commercial success would be demonstrated by this point, increasing equity-sale proceeds. At this point, the ECB would sell its shares in each team, and the host counties would be allowed to decide whether to sell (in part or in whole) theirs.

 

Recognising the need to address the anger of the 11 counties not awarded a franchise (alongside a genuine desire to assist them), the ECB structured requirements on the equity-sale proceeds to ensure every county benefited, whether or not it hosted a franchise. The agreed distribution of proceeds from the ECB’s equity sales would be as follows:⁷

 

  • 10% to grassroots cricket.

  • The next £275m split equally among all 19 counties.

  • The next £150m split equally among the 11 non-host counties.

  • Any further proceeds split equally among all 19 counties.

 

The ECB has now finalised the sale of six of its eight holdings, with the final two expected to be completed shortly.⁸ With the equity-sales valuing the franchises just shy of a combined £1bn,⁹ the ECB’s equity sale proceeds will provide a sizeable cash reward to each of the 19 first-class counties, and inject a huge investment into grassroots cricket.¹⁰

 

Only three of the eight host counties opted to sell any of their 51% equity. Glamorgan County has sold 1% of its holding in the Welsh Fire,¹¹ Lancashire County has sold 21% of its holding in the Manchester Originals, and Yorkshire County has sold the entirety of its 51% holding in the Northern Superchargers¹² - a move widely seen as necessary to Yorkshire’s urgent need for debt relief amid a ‘perilous financial position’ unrelated to the Hundred.¹³

 

Proceeds of county equity-sales are required to be distributed as follows:¹⁴

 

  • 80% to the selling county. 

  • 10% to grassroots cricket.

  • 10% split equally among the other 18 counties.

Why This Model?

 

The ECB faced a uniquely complex political and commercial context in launching the Hundred. With the T20 Blast (a league the ECB controls) still operating successfully, fans and players questioning the need for a new format, and Parliament scrutinising its plans,¹⁵ the ECB needed to quell resistance.

 

The ownership model and requirements on equity-sale proceeds distribution went a long way to achieving precisely that. By aligning the financial interests of both host and non-host counties, and ensuring grassroots funding, the ECB positioned the Hundred as a net positive for the wider cricketing ecosystem, not just a competitor to existing structures.

 

Additionally, by mandating the retention of equity for a fixed period, the ECB avoided underselling unproven assets at launch. By waiting until the competition demonstrated commercial viability, the Board could command stronger prices when shares were eventually marketed.

Has the Model Succeeded?

 

The ECB limited resistance to the new league by creating clear financial incentives for the first-class counties to work alongside it, also ensuring the Hundred could launch without irreparably destabilising the existing T20 Blast structure.

 

The earmarking of proceeds to be used for grassroots cricket supports the ECB’s wider policy goals, reflected in its repeated submissions to Parliament for financial assistance in growing the game at a local level.¹⁶ This is a concern shared by first-class counties and cricketing fans - so ensuring grassroots cricket benefits from equity-sale proceeds was a politically beneficial move in reducing opposition to the league’s formation.


However, the ECB’s decision to keep only a minority share (49%) of each team when establishing the franchises (giving the counties 51%), undoubtedly limited the pool of interested buyers when it came time for the ECB to sell. Most counties chose to retain their entire holdings, and many potential investors, particularly private equity firms, demand majority control in order to ensure their aggressive management strategies are implemented.¹⁷ In a purely revenue-maximising framework, offering majority stakes may have yielded greater immediate returns.

A Blueprint for Others?

 

The circumstances around the Hundred’s formation were highly unusual. The board that established it (the ECB) also controlled the league’s primary competitor (The T20 Blast), and a key goal of the ECB’s equity-sale revenue distribution model was to benefit organisations (counties) that did not control a team in the league.

 

In that environment, the ECB’s primary KPI was not maximising equity-sale proceeds, but ensuring political and institutional support. On those terms, the model was highly effective. Governing bodies seeking to launch a new competition while maintaining the health of existing structures may view it as a valuable precedent. 

 

Furthermore, earmarking equity-sale proceeds for grassroots investment is an intelligent way for governing bodies to achieve their goals, and the political goodwill this creates should be noted for others trying to launch a new league.

 

By contrast, leagues aiming to maximise equity-sale proceeds would likely adopt a different approach, offering majority ownership and aggressively pursuing market dominance rather than compromise.

Conclusion

 

The ECB’s franchise ownership model and equity-sale proceeds distribution requirements for The Hundred were not designed to deliver the highest possible price for its equity, but rather to balance competing stakeholder interests. In that respect, it has been highly effective.

 

Whether it serves as a blueprint to others depends on the goals of the respective league: where survival and stakeholder alignment are concerns, it may offer a model that can provide significant inspiration. But where capital maximisation is the key concern, more conventional structures that offer a direct route to majority ownership are likely to prevail.

References

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  1. https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4328574/ecb-finalises-deals-with-strategic-partners-in-the-hundred-unlocking-hundreds-of-millions-of-pounds-for-gamewide-growth (accessed 08/08/2025)

  2. https://www.thehundred.com/info/what-is-the-hundred (accessed 08/08/2025)

  3. https://www.thehundred.com/info/what-is-the-hundred (accessed 08/08/2025)

  4. https://www.economicsobservatory.com/the-hundred-how-might-private-investment-in-the-tournament-change-cricket (accessed 08/08/2025)

  5. https://www.economicsobservatory.com/the-hundred-how-might-private-investment-in-the-tournament-change-cricket (accessed 08/08/2025)

    https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4107568/ecb-opens-process-to-secure-private-investment-into-the-hundred?utm (accessed 10/08/2025)

    https://www.economicsobservatory.com/the-hundred-how-might-private-investment-in-the-tournament-change-cricket (accessed 08/08/2025)

  6. https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4328574/ecb-finalises-deals-with-strategic-partners-in-the-hundred-unlocking-hundreds-of-millions-of-pounds-for-gamewide-growth (accessed 08/08/2025)

  7. https://www.economicsobservatory.com/the-hundred-how-might-private-investment-in-the-tournament-change-cricket (accessed 08/08/2025)

  8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/cx29w420vp4o (accessed 08/08/2025)

  9. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/ckgrl67llkeo (accessed 08/08/2025)

  10. https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4328574/ecb-finalises-deals-with-strategic-partners-in-the-hundred-unlocking-hundreds-of-millions-of-pounds-for-gamewide-growth (accessed 08/08/2025)

  11. https://www.espn.co.uk/cricket/story/_/id/45866734/yorkshire-start-clearing-debts-a25-million-following-northern-superchargers-sale (accessed 10/08/2025) 

  12. https://www.economicsobservatory.com/the-hundred-how-might-private-investment-in-the-tournament-change-cricket (accessed 10/08/2025) 

  13. https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/105459/pdf/ (accessed 10/08/2025) 

  14. https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/133761/html/ (accessed 10/08/2025) 

  15. https://hbr.org/2007/09/the-strategic-secret-of-private-equity (accessed 10/08/2025)

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