Compass catches £120m Edgbaston deal

Compass Group has announced a joint venture with Warwickshire County Cricket Club in a 12-year deal worth up to £10m a year.

The caterer will provide all hospitality food service and retail for Edgbaston's match-day and conference and banqueting business, which currently attracts up to 200,000 visitors a year.

The new venture, called Edgbaston Experience, will also be responsible for selling match-day corporate hospitality through Compass's Keith Prowse business, as well as selling and marketing the conference and banqueting facilities.

The 12-year deal forms part of the £32m redevelopment of the iconic stadium, which is expected to significantly enhance cricketing, spectator and media facilities at the venue.

The development is expected to be complete in July, ahead of the third Npower test match between England and India, which begins on 10 August. Edgbaston will also host the marquee domestic cricket final, T20 finals day, on 27 August.

Neil MacLaurin, sales director - sport, leisure and hospitality at Compass, said: "We are delighted to enter into partnership with Warwickshire at this very exciting period in its history. We operate similar successful partnerships at iconic sporting venues including as the Kia Oval and Twickenham stadium and are pleased to add Edgbaston to this portfolio."

Craig Flindall, finance director at Warwickshire Cricket Club, added: "This is another important and progressive development for the club which will help us deliver a first-class customer experience to our visitors on both cricket days and for conferences and banqueting events.

"The willingness of a FTSE 100 company such as Compass to invest in Edgbaston demonstrates the strength of our proposition both now and more importantly going forward".

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By Janie Stamford

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