David Sullivan sends out a warning to potential Birmingham City buyers

Dec 7 2007 By Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM City co-owner David Sullivan has warned any new potential buyers that he will demand to see proof of their financial clout before agreeing to sell his stake in the club again.

Sullivan admits he has been "worn out" by Carson Yeung's long-winded efforts to take control at St Andrew's with the Hong Kong businessman so far failing to produce the cash he needs to take control of Blues.

And when, as expected, Yeung's bid fails later this month, Sullivan is adamant that ground rules will be laid down from the start the next time he gets an offer.

Blues are believed to have had tentative offers from at least two interested parties who have suggested they would be interested in showing their hand once Yeung is out of the picture.

But so far, any contact been held through go-betweens representing their clients.

The Yeung bid has made Birmingham City's availability known on a worldwide basis, but Sullivan says it likely to be the summer before he entertains any more prospective owners.

Sullivan would prefer new manager Alex McLeish to settle into his job before landing him with the uncertainty of another takeover bid.

And any newcomers would want to see which division Blues are in next season before committing themselves. But more importantly, Sullivan would want to see solid proof of a new buyer's finances.

"We need a period of stability now with a new manager, this takeover talk has worn us out over the last few months and it would probably be the end of the season now before we look at things again," said Sullivan.

"There's been some contact from middle men but we would need to see that anyone who wanted to buy the club have the millions to spend on it. And I am talking about millions.

"We were told Carson Yeung was a billionaire, but we didn't know he would have to raise the money."