A cross-firm team has advised Manchester Super Giants on the acquisition of land adjacent to Emirates Old Trafford, enabling the development of a new high performance cricket centre. The acquisition forms part of a wider multi-million-pound investment by RPSG Group and Lancashire Cricket in cricket infrastructure and player development.
The new facility is set to include indoor and outdoor practice areas, sports science facilities and a gym, supporting Lancashire Cricket's professional, academy and age-group teams, as well as teams across the Super Giants cricket portfolio.
The firm advised on the real estate, corporate and tax aspects of the acquisition. The transaction supports plans to bring the site back into cricket ownership for the first time since it was sold by Lancashire Cricket in 1962 and forms part of a wider investment in the future of the sport in the region.
Daniel Gidney, Director at Manchester Super Giants, said: "The directors felt that as the lawyers who acted for RPSG on their investment into Manchester Super Giants, it was natural for us to reach out to Ragi Singh at Gowling WLG. Their combination of understanding sport infrastructure and having one of the largest and most sophisticated Real Estate teams in the country made them a perfect fit for this transaction. Matt Walker and the team, including Khaleel Salman and Oliver Sanderson, were in the detail and helped us navigate the legal and commercial issues."
Ragi Singh, Head of Sport and Co-leader of the Corporate Team (UK), said: "We're delighted to have supported Manchester Super Giants on this acquisition. The project represents another exciting investment in cricket infrastructure and player development, and it was a pleasure to work alongside the Manchester Super Giants team to help bring the transaction to completion."
The transaction team was led by Real Estate Partner Matt Walker and Ragi Singh, Head of Sport and Corporate Team (UK). They were supported by Senior Associate Khaleel Salman (Real Estate), Oliver Sanderson (Corporate), Principal Associate Michael Sweeney and Partner Lee Nutall (Tax).
Bringing together expertise from across our Real Estate, Tax and Corporate teams, we support clients on a wide range of acquisitions, investments and strategic projects in the UK and internationally.