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A £975m deal to transform the finances of English cricket risks facing further demands for revision over proposals including one allowing the sport’s governing body to cancel The Hundred tournament in seven years time.

Sky News has obtained a revised document sent this weekend by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to prospective investors in the eight Hundred franchises – who include some of the world’s most powerful technology company executives.

The document outlines a series of changes to the ECB’s original proposals, in an attempt to persuade the competition’s new shareholders – who have collectively agreed to stump up £520m for their team stakes – to sign binding contracts within weeks.

In recent weeks, the ECB has come under pressure from many of the investors to revise proposals relating to media and sponsorship rights, future expansion of The Hundred, and governance of the tournament.

The sale of the ECB’s 49% stakes in the eight Hundred teams, including Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles, was hailed as a landmark moment for the sport, paving the way for a vast injection of cash into English cricket at county and grassroots level.

However, one senior cricket insider cast doubt on the ECB’s timetable for signing binding agreements, scheduled for 29 April, amid continuing dissatisfaction from some stakeholders.

Another sticking point for the investors may be the inclusion of a clause that the ECB has the right to unilaterally terminate the Hundred competition after seven years.

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“What happens in year eight?”, said one on Sunday.

“These investors have agreed to pay hundreds of millions of pounds with no guarantee of terminal value.”

Among the new backers of The Hundred – which is broadcast by Sky Sports, which shares a parent company with Sky News – are the Chelsea FC co-owner Todd Boehly, the billionaire Indian Ambani family and a group of tech executives including the chief executives of Google and Microsoft.

According to the document, the existing Hundred committee will be scrapped by a new body, The Hundred Board (HB), on which the ECB would cede control and hold just a third of the overall voting rights.

The HB would consist of 20 members, with four from the ECB and two from each team – but with the ECB members each carrying double voting rights.

“The HB Agreement now protects teams from future changes, meaning [the] ECB can no longer unilaterally amend the decision-making and other powers of the HB.

“Instead, any variation to the HB Agreement will require approval from a majority of investor members of the HB, two-thirds of all members of the HB, and the ECB board,” the document said.

One of the ECB’s board members will become chair of the HB, according to the document, while the governing body will also appoint the Hundred’s managing director on a minimum five-year contract.

A source close to one of the new investors questioned that arrangement on Sunday, arguing that such an arrangement risked “embedding failure” in the event of unhappiness at the competition’s administration.

The document also sets out several matters, including UK media rights arrangements for the period after 2029, which would be subject to so-called “triple trigger voting” requiring an “affirmative vote from a majority of Investor Members of the HB, two-thirds of all members of the HB and the ECB board”.

Also included on the triple-trigger list are: changes to league expansion criteria; the distribution of league expansion proceeds to ECB and The Hundred stakeholders; Material increases in payments from The Hundred and its teams to hosts and the broader ECB county ecosystem; and changes to the HB Agreement, or changes to the Framework Agreement that materially adversely affect teams.

“For the 2029 [media rights] cycle, the default position is the UK media rights will be sold on a bundled basis, with a floor valuation of £51m per year for The Hundred,” the document said.

“For each subsequent cycle, the default shifts to an unbundled sale of rights between The Hundred and the ECB’s broader UK media right package.

“For the 2029 cycle, ECB will request that UK rights bidders provide an itemized pricing allocation for The Hundred and non-Hundred rights to provide transparency on value of The Hundred.”

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The ECB document said it would only permit expansion of The Hundred in 2029 or later, and that it could only admit teams which have a purpose-built permanent stadium that does not host another franchise.

A revenue formula to protect distribution to existing teams would also be established, while new teams would be required to demonstrate that “they unlock a new fan base and complementary ticket sales”.

According to the document, the ECB has “developed a revised set of termination events that protects the ECB and other teams in extreme scenarios, also providing further protection for teams for events outside of their control:

• ECB will not unilaterally terminate The Hundred for seven years

• The ECB Member Resolution termination event has been removed

• ECB has clarified that it will not terminate the competition based on a breach by one or a select few clubs

• Termination for force majeure has been extended to require disruption over two consecutive seasons of The Hundred

• ECB’s right to terminate for “financial reasons” has been clarified to only apply in scenarios where ECB is experiencing financial challenges due to cash losses generated by The Hundred.”

“In the unlikely event the ECB decides to end its involvement in The Hundred, the ECB is committed to providing teams with an opportunity to maintain the competition independently, including using reasonable endeavours to make players, venues and a suitable playing window available to the competition,” the document states.

The ECB said it would also commit to “not launch or sanction a competing professional league for a period of 4 years”.

The ECB has also revised a set of sponsorship and player appearance proposals as part of its revised agreement.

In an effort to ensure a swift resolution to the process, the ECB told investors that those who do not sign and complete their stake purchases simultaneously would forego their right to an additional dividend.

For all investors, the governing body would provide “a £1 liability cap on all Business Warranties (given on a knowledge qualified basis) and Tax Claims”.

“The ECB will provide fundamental warranties only and will provide no other indemnities or warranties.”

An ECB spokesman declined to comment on the document on Sunday, but pointed to comments made recently by Richard Gould, the governing body’s chief executive.

“We’re just trying to work out how to maximise value from sponsorships, tickets sales and broadcast revenues,” he said.

“They’re investing a lot of money into our game and we want to make sure that pays dividends.

“We’ve got brilliant supporters for our UK domestic market through Sky, but there are probably significant opportunities in the overseas broadcast market and that’s very much something that they’re focused on but there are differences in the markets.

“We need to make sure we’ve got something which is fit for purpose across the global markets, not just a UK market.”

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Good economic news as sunny weather boosted retail sales

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Good economic news as sunny weather boosted retail sales

Retail sales grew in June as warm weather boosted spending and day trips, official figures show.

Spending on goods such as food, clothes and household items rose 0.9%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

It’s a bounce back from the 2.8% dip in May, but last month’s figure was below economists’ forecast 1.2% uplift as consumers dealt with higher prices from increased inflation.

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Also weighing on spending was reduced consumer confidence amid talk of higher taxes, according to a closely watched indicator from market research firm GfK.

Retail sales figures are significant as they measure household consumption, the largest expenditure in the UK economy.

Growing retail sales can mean economic growth, which the government has repeatedly said is its top priority.

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What does ‘inflation is rising’ mean?

Where have people been shopping?

June’s retail sales rise came as people bought more in supermarkets, and retailers said drinks sales were up.

While hot and sunny weather boosted some brick-and-mortar shops, the heat led some to head online.

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Non-store retailers, which include mainly online shops, but also market stalls, had sold the most in more than three years.

Not since February 2022 had sales been so high as the Met Office said England had its warmest ever June, and the second warmest for the UK as a whole.

The June increases suggest that the May drop was a bump in the road. When looked at as a whole, the first six months of the year saw retail sales up 1.7%.

Filling up the car for day trips to take advantage of the sun played an important role in the retail sales growth.

When fuel is excluded, the rise was smaller, just 0.6%.

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Despite lower consumer sentiment and more expensive goods, consumers are benefitting from rising wages and are cutting back on savings.

The ONS lifestyle survey – backed up by hard data like the Bank of England’s money and credit figures – shows that households have rebuilt their rainy day savings and are cutting back on the amount of money they squirrel away each month.

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Former Poundland owner lines up advisers as restructuring looms

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Former Poundland owner lines up advisers as restructuring looms

The former owner of Poundland is lining up advisers to supervise its transition to new shareholders through a court-sanctioned process that will involve store closures and job cuts at the discount retailer.

Sky News has learnt that Pepco Group, which is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, is drafting in FRP Advisory weeks after it struck a deal to sell Poundland to Gordon Brothers.

Industry sources said FRP had been asked by Pepco to act as an observer, with the High Court scheduled to sanction a restructuring plan in the last week of August.

Under the proposed deal, 68 Poundland shops would close in the short term, along with two distribution centres.

More shops are expected to be shut under Gordon Brothers over time, resulting in hundreds of job losses.

Pepco is said to be particularly focused on IT systems which Poundland uses in common with Pepco’s operations in Poland.

Barry Williams, managing director of Poundland, said at the time of the deal’s announcement: “It’s no secret that we have much work to do to get Poundland back on track.

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“While Poundland remains a strong brand, serving 20 million-plus shoppers each year, our performance for a significant period has fallen short of our high standards and action is needed to enable the business to return to growth.

“It’s sincerely regrettable that this plan includes the closure of stores and distribution centres, but it’s necessary if we’re to achieve our goal of securing the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores.

Prior to the deal’s announcement, Poundland employed roughly 16,000 people across an estate of over 800 shops in the UK and Ireland.

Tax hikes announced by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, in last autumn’s Budget have increased the financial pressure on high street retailers.

In recent months, chains including WH Smith, Lakeland and The Original Factory Shop have changed hands amid challenging circumstances.

In June, Sky News revealed that River Island, the family-owned clothing retailer, was also working with advisers on a rescue plan aimed at averting its collapse.

Pepco and Poundland declined to comment.

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TalkTalk dials up £100m investment from Ares Management

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TalkTalk dials up £100m investment from Ares Management

TalkTalk, the telecoms and broadband group, has secured a £100m capital injection from one of its existing backers in a deal that will relieve the growing financial pressure on the company.

Sky News has learnt that Ares Management has agreed to provide the new funding in two tranches, with the first £60m said to be imminent.

A deal could be announced as soon as Friday afternoon, according to banking sources.

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The funding agreement comes amid discussions between TalkTalk and its bondholders about a potential break-up of the company, which would involve the sale of its consumer arm and PXC, its wholesale and network division.

Those disposals are now not expected to be launched in the short term.

One person close to the situation said that in addition to Ares’s £100m commitment, TalkTalk had raised £50m from two disposals in March and June, comprising the sale of non-core customers to Utility Warehouse.

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There was also an in-principle agreement to defer cash interest payments and to capitalise those, which would be worth approximately £60m.

TalkTalk has been grappling with a strained balance sheet for some time, and recently drafted in advisers from Alvarez & Marsal, the professional services firm, to assist its finance function.

The group has more than 3m broadband customers, making it one of the largest players in the UK market.

It completed a £1.2bn refinancing late last year, but has been under pressure from bondholders to raise additional capital.

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Last month, the Financial Times reported that BT’s broadband infrastructure arm, Openreach, could block TalkTalk from adding new customers to its network in an escalating dispute over payments owed to BT Group.

TalkTalk, which was taken private in 2021, and Ares both declined to comment.

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