Wimbledon debentures soar in value ahead of sale

London

NOVAK Djokovic and Rafael Nadal aren't the only people set to make big gains on Wimbledon's illustrious Centre Court this year.

The arena's 2,520 five-year season passes, called debentures, went on sale last week for an estimated £100,000 (S$178,000) each, the Guardian newspaper reported over the weekend. They grant access to every match on the tennis club's famous court from 2021 to 2025. The sale for 2015-2020 debentures netted £50,000 each, the Guardian said.

There are no limits on their re-sale, so a busy and lucrative market has formed to trade them. Passes have nearly tripled their face value just a year after purchase, the paper cites Numis Corporation Plc stockbroker Tim Webb as saying. Numis is aiming to hold weekly auctions for the passes, according to its website.

The upcoming sale is expected to produce as much as £250 million for the prestigious All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in south London, which hosts the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament, the Guardian reported. The tickets account for nearly a fifth of the court's roughly 15,000 seats. BLOOMBERG