GMR's Hampshire takeover & what it means for cricket, business, Delhi and Dubai Capitals

For the first time since acquiring Hampshire County in October 2024, the GMR Group - the co-owners of the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and owners of the Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 - have spoken out about their expansion. Its plans also extend to Australia, with a potential deal involving New South Wales, but the completed Hampshire acquisition has taken the world cricket fraternity by surprise.

It was a surprise because of the traditionally conservative nature of English cricket, which has been resolutely closed to business partnerships for years. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has recently initiated steps to privatise The Hundred - taking a cue from the IPL business model - but the English counties are not necessarily known to entertain private companies and partnerships.

In such a backdrop, the GMR-Hampshire pact was seen as a game-changing move and the Indian firm thinks it makes for a strong business and cricketing sense. "If you look at it from our perspective, this could evolve into a much larger global cricketing ecosystem. We have access to a substantial talent pool, and the possibilities for the future are immense. While nothing is finalized yet, the potential is enormous," PKSV Sagar, the president of GMR Sports Ventures Pvt Ltd, tells Cricbuzz. The deal included approximately 190 acres of real estate expanse, a five-star hotel, an 18-hole golf course, and additional land earmarked for development.

In October, GMR acquired 56 percent of Hampshire's shares, with the remaining 44 per cent to be secured by September 2026, by when the takeover will be complete. The deal took 18 months to finalize and Hampshire's status as a privately owned county came in handy. Hampshire, incidentally, are one of the two privately owned counties in England, Durham being the other.

While the surprise element stays true, the critical question is: what are the gains for the Indian firm from the landmark expansion? "Significant," quips Sagar. Being an infrastructure company itself, GMR sees tremendous value in the 190-odd acres of lush, green prime land in Southampton, a vibrant city in the south coast of England with a rich maritime history and thriving economy.

UK-based real estate consultancy Knight Frank has conservatively projected the value appreciation by 2.5 per cent in 2025, three per cent in 2026 and 3.5 per cent in 2027 - an alluring prospect for future development. By the time the deal is complete, the value would have been up by close to six per cent. There are also significant cricketing benefits. Hampshire boasts eight teams, including in The Hundred, that compete in all the ECB-affiliated competitions, offering a vast pool of players.

Despite having the majority-holdings, GMR has chosen to maintain the status quo and keep the control with the present management. "We don't want to reinvent the wheel," says Sagar. Rod Bransgrove, the enterprising chairman of the country, will continue in his role, with the CEO David Mann's position remaining unchanged.

There are sources of income if not exactly in abundance of cash flow. The grants from the parent body, the ECB, will come as ever and there are avenues to monetise. Private events, like concerts, happen about five times a year at the Southampton ground. Last month, there was a drone show which apparently was well-attended.

The seeds of the mega deal were sown when two 'like-minded individuals' came together. "This was originally owned by Rod, who is an exceptional person. Twenty years ago, Hampshire was on the brink of bankruptcy. At the time, he was running a pharmaceutical business and invested his own money into the club. His passion for the game drove him to take the club from where it was then to where it is today, having built one of the best international grounds," Sagar says.

Premature: GMR on NSW deal

GMR would not confirm that they are engaging with Cricket New South Wales in a business deal, as reported by Cricbuzz on January 4 but would not deny either? "An opportunity came up to be in Sydney, so we went to see the Test (fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at the SCG). We got introduced to various people during the match and we just went around and saw what was there. They (NSW officials) told us, 'why don't you see the facilities? So we went around and looked at the facilities'. But otherwise everything else that's being talked about is premature," the GMR honcho says.