Lancashire County Cricket Club "kicked-off a bid to raise" £3M ($5M) to fund a four-star hotel through its first ever retail bond, according to Adam Jupp of the MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS. The "Cricket Bond" will offer investors a 7% gross annual interest rate on investments of £1,000 ($1,600) or more. Red Rose bosses "want to build a 150-bed hotel at the club’s Emirates Old Trafford ground, replacing the current Old Trafford Lodge venues." It "is part of plans to reduce Lancashire’s reliance on cricket revenues, with the club already having grown its conference and events sales" by 20% over the past year (MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS, 9/24). The BBC reported Lancashire CCC's Cricket Bond is open to investors willing to invest at least £1,000, "with the money being locked away for five years." Interest of 5% a year "will be paid in cash, alongside 2% in vouchers that can be redeemed against tickets and hospitality products." The returns "are higher than the average rate on a savings account, but there is no protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme." This safety net protects the first £85,000 ($139,000) of savings "if a bank, building society, financial firm or credit union goes bust" (BBC, 9/24).
