Birmingham Sports Holdings today announced to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that letters of intent have been signed to sell both a stake in the club and St Andrew’s Stadium to an unnamed purchaser. The news is the biggest indication yet that a takeover is going through.
One of the things I’ve thought a lot about during this last year of takeover interest in Birmingham City is what I would like to see from a new ownership regime. While the process has been protracted and even painful at times, the possibility of a conclusion has left me daring to dream of what might be.
Saturday felt like a familiar kick in the teeth as a Birmingham City fan. Against West Bromwich Albion it felt like hope and belief was returning to the team but two successive poor defeats to struggling opposition has once again brought the anguished and pessimistic to share their despair online.
With both the previous Maxco bid and the current Often Partisan Limited offer for the club, there is a long drawn-out multi-stage process to complete the deal. Part of the issue is a two-year period put in place for Birmingham Sports Holdings to find another company to replace the club in the group, before finally relinquishing control.
With Jude Bellingham once again turning it on for England in the round of 16 World Cup match against Senegal, it’s somewhat deflating to turn attention back to the never-ending saga that is Birmingham City’s ownership travails.
It wasn’t exactly a full chamber when Shabana Mahmood MP talked about the travails surrounding the ownership of Birmingham City in the House of Commons on Monday night, but hopefully it will be another step on the journey to better regulation in football.
For the first time in a long time, hope has a home at St Andrew’s. A good 2-0 win against Queens Park Rangers on Friday elevated Blues into the top half of the table and has got some supporters dreaming of a top six position come the end of the season. While the playoffs are still realistically some way off, things definitely look to be brightening up for Birmingham City.
