Birmingham City set for £72m cash windfall | OneFootball

Birmingham City will be aiming to contend for promotion next season

Birmingham City will be pushing to compete for promotion to the Premier League next season.

The Blues came up from League One in 2025 with a grand ambition to gain promotion again straight away, which didn’t come to fruition.

Chris Davies guided the team to a 10th place finish, and they will now be targeting at least a top eight position, with the play-offs expanding to include two more teams from next season.

Owners Knighthead Capital have invested heavily in the club in the last few years, with their aim being to bring the Midlands outfit back to the top flight.

The group own Birmingham through a subsidiary in Knighthead, Shelby Companies Limited (SCL), and they completed their takeover of the club in January 2025 after initially purchasing a stake in July 2023.

Tom Wagner has become the face of Knighthead Capital, but Tom Brady is also a minority shareholder in the Championship side.

Birmingham City owners inject £72 million into the club

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It has been reported by Birmingham Live that SCL have issued roughly £72 million worth of shares into the Midlands outfit in order to raise funds.

It has been revealed through Companies House that the club’s owners issued 71,770,400 new shares, which have been purchased for £1 each.

Meanwhile, another 380,723 were also purchased at a reduced value by minority shareholders, which has raised around £72 million for Birmingham.

This will come as a boost to their cashflow as they look to get active in the summer transfer window.

The Championship side have so far made just two signings since the end of the campaign, with Dael Fry arriving as a free agent following his exit from Middlesbrough.

Jhon Solis has also joined on a permanent basis after spending the second half of the previous season on loan at St. Andrew’s.

Birmingham are seeking a new sporting director following Craig Gardner’s exit, and the appointment of a new recruitment chief will also be key to their transfer plans.

The first team squad are back in training for pre-season, but the Blues have until 1 September to complete any further additions.

And this new injection of £72 million could help bring in signings, although Birmingham will also have to be wary of the new Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) finance rules given their recent heavy spending under Wagner.

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Knighthead Capital remain committed to Birmingham

The issuing of new shares isn’t the first time Knighthead Capital have done this since taking over at Birmingham, and it is another sign of their continued commitment.

Gaining promotion to the Premier League is their ultimate aim, and they have taken huge swings to try and achieve that goal, with progress also made in building a new stadium.

But the lack of a new sporting director has slowed their summer transfer business so far, which is surprising given their recent activity.

The sooner that a replacement for Gardner is found, the sooner that more additions will be made to Davies’ squad as the club targets a promotion push next season.