Breaking boundaries: Supporting Sun Group’s acquisition of Northern Superchargers

In July 2025, our Corporate Sports team – led by Partner, Keir Gordon and Legal Director, Tom Smitham – closed a deal on behalf of Sun Group, one of India’s largest media conglomerates, for its acquisition of The Hundred cricket team, Northern Superchargers.

The Hundred is a 100-ball per innings cricket tournament, which was established in 2021 by The England & Wales Cricket Board (the ECB). Northern Superchargers (or Leeds Sunrisers as it is now known having been renamed following completion of the deal) is one of eight teams participating in The Hundred and is based at Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s ground, Headingley, in Leeds.

Sun Group currently also owns Indian Premier League team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and SA20 team, Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

In May 2024, the ECB announced it was looking to obtain private investment into each of the eight teams and appointed The Raine Group – known for its advisory role on some of the world's biggest sports deals – and Deloitte to kick off a competitive auction process.

Our Firm had worked with Oakwell Sports Advisory, a dedicated corporate finance and strategic consultancy boutique, when we acted for the International Tennis Federation on its joint venture with Billie Jean King Enterprises and TWG Global for the creation of the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023. Thanks to that connection, we were introduced to Sun Group in August 2024 and were subsequently appointed to support on the transaction.

A staggered auction process began in December 2024, and bidders including Sun Group faced various hurdles during the transaction including an umbrella participation agreement over how the competition would be run following a sale. The club’s ground at Headingley was also subject to onerous and long-running commercial agreements with suppliers related to food and beverage and kits, which complicated negotiations.

Alongside our Corporate team, our Commercial team, led by Partner, Richard Davies, were also involved heavily in the negotiations, which also involved the expertise of our Corporate Tax, Employment, Immigration, and Data Protection and Privacy teams.

Sun Group was successful in its bid for Northern Superchargers and closed the deal to buy the team in its totality on 23 July 2025, expanding its Sunrisers franchise into the UK cricket market.

“The Charles Russell Speechlys team, ably led by Keir Gordon, has been an admirable source of support right through this transaction, handling the assignment with competence, speed and prudence, while keeping client interests as their foremost objective.”

SL Narayanan, Group CFO at Sun Group

“We are extremely proud to have supported Sun Group and their Corporate Finance Advisors, Oakwell Sports Advisory, on this seminal acquisition. The transaction highlights the continued interest in UK sports by international investors, as well as the current excitement around cricket and The Hundred, and the tournament’s potential for long-term success.” 

Keir Gordon, Partner

“There has been continued interest in UK sports by international investors. With increased activity in football – as we’ve seen following what has happened at Wrexham and the Ryan Reynolds effect – it’s now shifting to other sports as well.”

Tom Smitham, Legal Director