Oval Invincibles rebrand as MI London after Reliance completes Hundred deal

The Hundred has accomplished its last two franchise agreements, recording the complete transition into the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) new possession mannequin. Essentially the most notable growth is the rebranding of Oval Invincibles as MI London from the 2026 season, following Reliance’s acquisition of a 49% stake within the franchise. 

The ECB had earlier introduced its plan to introduce personal funding into The Hundred, so as to strengthen long-term sustainability and convey new monetary assets for the game. Six franchise offers have been accomplished in July, leaving solely Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets pending. With Reliance and Cain & Ares now finalising their respective agreements, all eight groups in The Hundred formally have strategic companions. Based on the ECB, the mixed valuation of the franchises crosses GBP 975 million, with over GBP 500 million set to movement into English and Welsh cricket, together with a devoted GBP 50 million funding in grassroots growth.

Reliance Strategic Enterprise Ventures Restricted (RSBVL) partnered with Surrey County Cricket Membership to finish the Oval Invincibles deal. Beneath the settlement, Surrey will maintain 51% possession, whereas Reliance will personal 49%. With the deal closed, each the boys’s and ladies’s groups can be rebranded as MI London from the 2026 version of The Hundred. The brand new identify matches Reliance’s wider world cricket imaginative and prescient, which incorporates groups resembling MI Cape City and MI New York.

Trent Rockets additionally completes the funding course of

Trent Rockets additionally accomplished their funding course of earlier, with Nottinghamshire CCC partnering with Cain & Ares beneath a 51-49 cut up. The ECB confirmed that with all eight agreements finalised, every franchise will now be managed by a newly shaped TeamCo comprising the host venue and personal traders. These TeamCos will assume operational management of the groups whereas persevering with to work carefully with the respective county golf equipment.

The ECB acknowledged that the inflow of personal funding will assist develop the competitors and enhance the general cricketing ecosystem. Vikram Banerjee, Managing Director of The Hundred, revealed that finishing all eight offers is an enormous step towards elevating the competitors.

He described the brand new companions as world-leading, additional stressing that the main focus is now on making the 2026 season the very best but. The funding from these partnerships can be distributed throughout skilled counties, with a promise of strengthening cricket at each stage.

The finished partnerships throughout the eight groups embrace offers with Knighthead for Birmingham Phoenix, Tech Titans for London Spirit, RPSG Group for Manchester Originals, Solar TV Community for Northern Superchargers, Reliance for MI London, GMR Group for Southern Courageous, and Cain & Ares for Trent Rockets. Proportion splits differ, however most observe the 51-49 mannequin between county golf equipment and traders.

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