Birmingham City issue update over club’s ownership with promising statement

Birmingham City have been in talks with an unnamed shareholder and a third party, a club statement confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. The update comes around seven weeks after it was made public that Blues would not be taken over by Maxco pair Paul Richardson and Maxi Lopez.

The statement reads: “The Club can confirm that talks have been initiated between a shareholder and a third party over a proposed investment deal for both St. Andrew’s Stadium and a shareholding in the Club. For legal reasons, the Club is restricted in what it is able to say publicly regarding this matter and are not currently at liberty to name the prospective investor or to provide any further details regarding the negotiations.”

Blues added that due diligence is currently underway by the prospective investor. The club has urged supporters to keep informed using its official website, BCFC.com, and the club’s social media channels.

It is the first bit of promising news shared since the disastrous December update which saw Richardson and Lopez pull out of a deal. The Maxco duo had been holding continuous talks with current owners Birmingham Sports Holdings throughout the autumn and start of the winter last year.

Fans have grown increasingly frustrated by the uncertainty surrounding Birmingham’s future with protests becoming regular during matches at St Andrew’s. Just last weekend, with around 15 minutes to go in the 2-1 defeat to Preston North End, two spectators made their way onto the field of play, confronting John Ruddy.

It took at least 30 seconds for any involvement from stewards to get the pair off the field and by that point, they had already managed a short exchange with Birmingham’s goalkeeper. “I tried to shout to them to get off the pitch, and all they shouted was ‘we want our club back’. That indicates why they did what they did,” Ruddy said post-match.

“It’s something we can’t control and players, it’s something the manager can’t control. We have no effect on what happens above us at boardroom level, what we can effect is what happens on the pitch - and for the last two months, we haven’t been good enough. It’s as simple as that,” Ruddy continued.