BCFC: A New Dawn

Birmingham City have confirmed on the official club website that Sale and Purchase Agreements have been exchanged between Shelby Companies Limited and BSH, Oriental Rainbow Investments Ltd and Achiever Global Group Ltd which will see SCL own 45.64% of the club along with St Andrew’s Stadium.

Pre Match St Andrews

This story will be updated with new information when further announcements are made.

The official club statement can be read at this link.

As news goes, this is pretty much the one we’ve all been waiting for as Birmingham City fans – official confirmation the sale of the club is happening.

What is the basic premise of this deal?

The deal is in two parts.

Firstly, Oriental Rainbow Investments Ltd (ORI) will sell its 21.64% stake in Birmingham City plc to Shelby Companies Limited (SCL).

Achiever Global Group Ltd and ORI will also sell their whole stake in Birmingham City Stadium Ltd to SCL.

Secondly, BSH will sell 24% of its stake in Birmingham City plc to SCL.

Ownership post sale

Once everything is signed off, SCL will own 45.64% of the club and BSH will own 51%.

Is this deal now completed?

Not quite. Now the definitive agreements have been signed, BSH have to prepare a circular for shareholders prior to an Extraordinary General Meeting. This takes about a month and will also be the timeframe when final approvals have been reached from the EFL and the HKSE.

Once the circular is prepared, an announcement will be made that an EGM is to be held. There is normally 21 days notice for this.

This means a circular should be dispatched by June 5 and an EGM held by June 26; however this is the minimum timeframe and it could take longer.

Who owns Shelby Companies Limited?

Shelby Companies Limited is a company based in Birmingham which is owned by Knighthead Annuity and Life Assurance Company (KALAC).

You can read about them in this article.

Does this mean Jeremy Dale and Often Partisan Limited are no longer involved?

No. It’s my belief that Dale will end up either as CEO or a similar type of position at the club, while I expect Keith Pelley will probably take a non-executive director style role.

Will there be an announcement about the other 51%?

No. This is a very legally complex deal and I think that SCL will want to get the first part done and out of the way as quickly as possible to get the ball rolling.

I understand as part of the Sale and Purchase Agreement that SCL will have management control of the club.

The EFL will want reassurance with regards to who is running the club once it is done to prevent a situation like the Maxco one happening again. The HKSE and shareholders will need to be reassured that the club is being run properly and there is no danger of a civil war between the two parties.


The important thing to take from today’s announcement is the official nature of it.

No car park press conference, no excited tweets about “it’s over”.

While we might hear a few words from Tom Wagner at the game today, I don’t expect we’ll hear more precise details with regards to what they plan to do until shareholder approval has been received.

However, to quote Nina Simone:

It’s a new dawn

It’s a new day

It’s a new life

And I’m feeling good