City bankers are buying rare Lord's debentures at an unprecedented rate to guarantee seats for the 2009 and 2013 Ashes Test matches.

More than 1,000 debentures went on sale to the public at the end of last month, priced at £8,000 each, and already more than half have been sold. Most of the demand has come from City workers recently awarded bonuses.

The debentures secure the right to buy tickets for all major matches at the St John's Wood ground. This includes Tests, one-day internationals and domestic cup finals, as well as many Middlesex county games, until 2015.

But the key attraction will be the next two tours by Australia following England's 2-1 victory in the 2005 Ashes series.

Matches this year include Tests against New Zealand and South Africa. One Lord's source said: "Shoppers have been rushing to snap up the remaining debentures at an unprecedented rate. The surge has coincided with the bonus packages paid out by the likes of Goldman Sachs."

The debenture is structured as a no-interest 75-year loan and is the only way to guarantee Lord's seats apart from joining the MCC, which has an 18-year waiting list.

It is the first time Lord's has sold debentures to the public rather than MCC members for a decade.

In total, £20 million is being raised from the public sale and other debentures, which will partly be used to upgrade the ground, increasing its capacity from 28,500 to 35,000.

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