The Birmingham Post reported yesterday that in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Trillion Trophy Asia Ltd (TTA) said it would provide a loan of up to HK$250m (£26m) to Birmingham International Holdings Ltd (BIHL) “to identify suitable business opportunities”.

The loan to the Blues holding company is noted with interest by Blues Trust.  The Trust recognizes that at the highest levels of football, particularly the Premier League and Championship, the ability of a club and its team to succeed can be significantly assisted by its ability to compete financially.  This can depend on finding innovative ways of generating revenue streams to complement the more traditional sources, such as season tickets and shirt sales.  We would therefore give a cautious welcome to the intention of TTA to do this, while at the same time having some reservations about what might happen should the additional revenue streams not be forthcoming by the 31st December 2018, the date of repayment of the loan, or sooner if TTA chooses to terminate the agreement.