Compass Group unveils new joint venture with Warwickshire County Cricket Club

The venture, which will trade as Edgbaston Experience Ltd, will see Compass provide all retail and hospitality food service for Edgbaston's match-day and conference and banqueting business which currently attracts up to 200,000 visitors per year. This new venture will also be responsible for the selling of match-day corporate hospitality through Compass' Keith Prowse business as well as selling and marketing the conference and banqueting facilities. This deal forms part of the £32million redevelopment of the Edgbaston stadium, which together with enhancing the cricketing, spectator and media facilities, will provide the Club with "some of the best banqueting, conference and event facilities in the region". The development is expected to be completed in July, in advance of the 3rd npower Test Match between England and India, which starts on Wednesday 10 August 2011. Neil MacLaurin, sales director – sport, leisure and hospitality at Compass Group UK and Ireland, 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. We look forward to working in partnership with Warwickshire to drive consistent quality at a wonderful venue." 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 like Compass to invest in Edgbaston demonstrates the strength of our proposition both now and more importantly going forward."