Blues Bid race Shows Why Clubs Are An Attractive Buy - 28/06/2007

Birmingham may claim to be England's 'Second City', but newly promoted Birmingham City are far from being one of the glamorous clubs in the Premiership. Yet it appears that there are three bidders interested in the club. There is an unidentified Far Eastern businessman, who appears to be the front runner; London-based steel magante Lakshmi Mittal, the fifth-richest man in the world; and Nanjing Automobile Corporation, the Chinese company that bought the MG Rover Group based at Longbridge in Birmingham. What this shows how attractive a Premiership football club is as a purchase to some of the seriously rich people in the modern global economy? But, prestige aside, why? The quick answer is the new television deal and that is a big part of the story. However, it is possible to overlook the other attractions. Nigel Currie at sponsorship company brandRapport says that the three promoted Coca-Cola Championshop clubs can expect their ticket sales to double to about £22m per eseason, while sponsorship packages will harden to £2m or so each from as little as £250,000. Even the cost of perimeter advertising doubles to about £1.5m a season, while merchandising income should triple to as much as £1.5m. Moreover, many clubs have parcels of prime development land. Of course, it does necessarily mean a bright new tomorrow. Rifts at Liverpool appear to have arisen in part because not so much cash is available to spend on players as had been hoped for.

Carson Yeung Buys Major Stake In Birmingham City FC

Birmingham City's directors have agreed to sell 29.9 per cent of the club's shares to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung. Although certainly rich, he is not one of the super rich individuals who form part of the former colony's 'property cartel'. David and Ralph Gold have each agreed to sell 14.81 per cent of the club's shares to Yeung, while Karen Brady has agreed to sell a 0.23 per cent stake. Yeung thus becomes the biggest individual shareholder. The door is understood to be open for Yeung to gain a controlling interest. Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal had also been linked with a bid for the Blues, while Yeung made an unsuccessful bid for Reading.