Jude Bellingham buys Birmingham Phoenix stake as Hundred investment evolves

Jude Bellingham has bought a 1.2% minority stake in Birmingham Phoenix, the Edgbaston-based Hundred franchise, linking one of the West Midlands’ highest-profile athletes to a property that is moving into a new phase of private investment.The deal, valued at close to £1m, sees Bellingham acquire 0.6% from Warwickshire County Cricket Club and 0.6% from affiliates of Knighthead Capital Management, the US investment firm that holds a significant stake in Birmingham City.Warwickshire will retain majority control of Birmingham Phoenix with 50.4%, while Knighthead will hold 48.4%, keeping the franchise’s governance anchored with the host county while widening its investor base.Bellingham positioned the investment as both civic and personal, with a focus on opening access to sport and broadening engagement beyond football. Bellingham said: “I love Birmingham. I’m very grateful for what the whole city of Birmingham has done for me. I love cricket as well so when I got the opportunity to get involved I didn’t really think twice about it, so I’m so happy to be on board.“I’m so grateful to Birmingham, the Stourbridge area and the West Midlands as a whole. I got the best upbringing into football, into life through Birmingham City. I feel like I owe the city something. Right now it’s difficult with how busy I am with football, but if there’s a way in which I can help then I want to and this feels like a good way.“I think it’s so important to get our kids in the city out there playing sports. I think it’s crucial and the opportunity of me being a part of Birmingham Phoenix is to try and help people realise there’s different avenues. Some people will enjoy football, some people enjoy cricket.“I want to let kids know, let adults know that there’s opportunities to go and enjoy sports. I was fortunate growing up I had the option of playing cricket and playing football, but some kids don’t have that opportunity. It’s important that if I can get involved in something like this to shine a light on an opportunity for kids, then even better.“I think the things that you learn from playing cricket, playing football, playing team sports are with you for life. To be able to interact with people, understand people from different backgrounds and also realise you can have a good time with anyone, I think that’s the beauty of sport. It brings people together, especially now more than ever.”Birmingham Phoenix chief executive Stuart Cain said the franchise has been looking for figures who can connect elite performance with local credibility as the Hundred tries to expand its audience. Cain said: “Jude loved cricket as a youngster and has wanted to be involved since The Hundred first went to market to secure investors.“He understands high performance sport, but more importantly as someone who grew up in the West Midlands and played the sport in his local streets, he understands the importance of sport and how it can play a positive role in young people’s lives. So, we look forward to working with him on a number of community initiatives moving forward.”Knighthead has positioned the investment as part of a broader, regional multi-sport strategy, using portfolio synergies to lift participation, attendance and commercial pull across properties in the West Midlands.Kyle Kneisly, a partner at Knighthead, said: “Knighthead is committed to bringing communities together through sport and driving growth for the region through our investments in football, cricket and netball. Working with Jude is another important step in building a vibrant sporting scene that everyone in the West Midlands can get behind.“Jude is a fantastic role model who embodies everything brilliant about the spirit of Birmingham and the West Midlands, having grown up and made his breakthrough in sports here. There is no doubt that his involvement with the Hundred will help spark interest in cricket from people who have never engaged with the sport, creating new generations of fans for the game.”Strategically, Bellingham’s entry gives Birmingham Phoenix a global-facing ambassador with strong local authenticity, offering leverage across sponsorship pitches, community programming and fan acquisition in a crowded summer sports calendar.The deal also reflects a wider challenge for the Hundred’s new ownership model: converting investment momentum into sustained, repeat attendance and deeper year-round engagement rather than one-off event demand.