International Cricket

English Counties vs ECB Hundred Equity Sale Row May 2026

Karthik Menon 19 May 2026 Updated 19 May 2026 ~5 min read ~913 words

Lord's pavilion with English county flags

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The ECB's sale of 49% equity stakes in eight Hundred franchises to private-equity and overseas investors completed in March 2026. Total proceeds were GBP 975 million. Sixteen of England's 18 first-class counties have since signed written objections to the sale terms and to how proceeds are being distributed. The two non-signatories are Surrey and Lancashire, both of which received favourable host-county arrangements. The counties are not trying to undo the sale. They are trying to renegotiate the distribution. Here is what each side has put on paper.

What the eight franchises sold for

The eight Hundred franchises sold at varying valuations. Birmingham Phoenix went highest at GBP 159 million for the 49%. London Spirit went second at 148 million. Oval Invincibles third at 132 million. Manchester Originals at 124 million. Trent Rockets at 118 million. Welsh Fire at 96 million. Southern Brave at 92 million. Northern Superchargers at 89 million. The buyers are five US-based PE firms, two Indian conglomerate-backed funds, and one Middle Eastern sovereign-linked entity.

The eight host counties (Warwickshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Yorkshire) received a base allocation of GBP 24 million each, with the remainder distributed under a formula that weights non-host counties at a lower rate. Surrey and Lancashire received an additional "commercial development" allocation of GBP 14 million each, which is at the heart of the 16 counties' objection.

The counties' written objections

The 16-county letter, signed in Birmingham on May 9 and shared with ECB chair Richard Thompson on May 11, has five asks. First, the "commercial development" allocations to Surrey and Lancashire be made public and justified line-item. Second, the non-host-county allocation formula be revised upward by 18%. Third, a ring-fenced grassroots-cricket fund of GBP 75 million across five years be created from proceeds. Fourth, a county-development infrastructure fund of GBP 50 million. Fifth, an annual review of the franchise revenue-share with counties.

The fourth and fifth asks are the structural ones. The first three are essentially repricing the immediate distribution. A board insider on the ECB side said the immediate distribution is "settled and unlikely to reopen," but the infrastructure fund and annual review are "genuinely negotiable." The next ECB board meeting on June 4 will consider these.

What the host counties got versus the non-hosts

The eight host counties received GBP 24 million base plus their host-county lease payments from the franchises. Those lease payments range from GBP 2.4 million annually (Welsh Fire to Glamorgan) to GBP 4.8 million annually (London Spirit to Middlesex). Surrey and Lancashire got the additional 14 million each in commercial-development funds. Surrey's justification is the Oval's grandstand expansion. Lancashire's is the Old Trafford north stand redevelopment.

The 10 non-host counties received GBP 9.5 million each in base allocation. Smaller counties (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire) received an additional GBP 2.8 million in "sustainability supplement." The 16-county letter argues the gap between host and non-host allocations entrenches a two-tier county system. It also argues the commercial-development supplements to Surrey and Lancashire are not transparent.

What changes at the June 4 ECB board

The most likely outcome at the June 4 board meeting is a grassroots-fund concession. The ECB has signalled willingness to ring-fence GBP 50 million across five years (against the counties' ask of 75) for a participation-and-pitches programme. The infrastructure fund is harder. The chief executive has indicated 25 million across three years is the ceiling, against the counties' ask of 50 million.

The Surrey and Lancashire commercial allocations are not on the June 4 agenda. The 16 counties have asked for them to be added. The ECB chair's response, per a letter dated May 14, is that those allocations are "outside the scope of the equity-sale review" and will be addressed in a separate audit. The 16 counties are not satisfied. A second letter is being drafted for the July board meeting.

What it means

The grassroots fund will land. The infrastructure fund will land at a reduced number. The Surrey-Lancashire commercial allocations stay private for now and will become a slow-burning fight through summer. The deeper structural fight, an annual revenue-share review tied to franchise valuations, is the one that defines the next five years of English domestic cricket. The counties will keep pressing. The Hundred is now too big to fail; that gives the ECB negotiating room. It also gives the counties leverage they did not have before the sale.