Birmingham City under new ownership with St Andrew's included in takeover

Birmingham City is under new ownership after Championship the club was sold for £35m - with the identity of the buyers set to be revealed within the next 24 hours.

Mirror Sport understands the new owners exchanged contracts last night and with the completion and transfer of funds set to take place in the next few days. After the finalities have been concluded, the EFL will be approached and regulatory approval will be sought for the new owners.

That is expected to be a formality and could mean a delay of just a few days before the in-coming buyers assume control. The £35m price includes that for the club and also St Andrew's.

The Blues will be run by a board of directors that will not include the club's new owner. The deal has been financed by veteran finance expert Keith Harris who has privately described it as one of the most difficult he has done because of the complexity of the share ownership.

The purchase itself is complicated. Initially, a minority stake of 30 per cent has been taken with the transfer of the rest of the ownership to be completed over a period of time. Funds are available and ready to be transferred once a date for completion has been set.

Former Rangers CEO Donald Muir has been strongly linked with the purchase of the club while rival bids came from groups headed by Maxi Lopez and ex-Watford owner Laurence Bassini respectively. It is not yet known whether the new owners will keep Lee Bowyer as manager of the club, although Mark Warburton had been touted as a possible contender for the St Andrew's hotseat with Muir's bid.