LTA basks in £55m All England windfall

The LTA has also agreed a new 40-year deal with Wimbledon over the running of the Championships (GETTY IMAGES)

The All England Club is to pay the Lawn Tennis Association £55m to buy back the 50 per cent share in its grounds which it gave to the British game's governing body 74 years ago.

The LTA, which now has to decide how to use the money, has also agreed a new 40-year deal with Wimbledon over the running of the Championships, earning 90 per cent of the tournament's annual profits. The LTA will receive £25.7m, an increase of three per cent on last year, from the 2008 Championships.