Finance expert Kieran Maguire gives his take on Birmingham ahead of return to the Championship

Published 18 hours ago• 5 minute read

It is claimed that Birmingham City, under chairman Tom Wagner, have ambitiously claimed they will become the highest revenue-generating club in Championship history without parachute payments, targeting around £60 million.

Just a few years ago, the club faced severe financial and ownership uncertainties. Their turnaround is attributed to strong financial deals and leveraging high-profile involvement like Tom Brady’s brand.

The club’s direction is positive, with significant investments, including a £15 million player signing in League One, where cost control rules are lenient.

However, challenges remain, particularly navigating Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in the Championship, where past losses (around £500,000 weekly before relegation) and high spending on wages and transfers could complicate finances.

Despite this, the outlook is exciting for Birmingham fans, though success depends on effectively managing increased revenues, which historically averaged £20 million.

“If they’re making record revenues…” 💰

“They’re generating at the thick end of £60 million” 🤯

Birmingham say they’re set to break the Championship record for most revenue without parachute payments…

We asked @KieranMaguire if it’s true👇

🔗 https://t.co/3vX06CBCHW #BCFC pic.twitter.com/hGttIDLCRy

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) July 2, 2025

: “A team coming up with Wrexham, who seem to have just as big a budget, perhaps even bigger than Wrexham, is Birmingham City.

“Now you have the chairman Tom Wagner coming out not too long ago saying that they’re going to be the highest revenue generating club in Championship history without parachute payments, which is some big old words, Kieran.

“And just over a couple of years ago, Birmingham City were a club properly on their arses. Didn’t know who actually owned them.

“Several different problems. So how on earth have they got into this position in, well, just over a couple of years?”

: “Yes. So, I mean, Wagner’s comments are certainly bullish. Yeah, I’m looking at my figures here. If they say they’re gonna make more money than than Leeds United did a few years ago, when Leeds were, you know, challenging at the top of the Championship and selling out Elland Road every week to, you know, the best parts of 40,000 people, then fair play to them.

“They must have some fantastic deals. I think they are trying to leverage off the Tom Brady factor.

“Now how much of a brand he brings to Birmingham City is an unknown. But there’s certainly, you know, the direction of travel for Blues is very positive.

“And on a personal level, I’m absolutely delighted because all the Blues fans I know, they as you said, they they’ve been on their arses for a fair old while.

“And, you know, lugubrious people from Birmingham is, is part of the local characteristics, but it is good to see them in a more positive light.

“The record revenues, well, if they do that, then fair play to them, but that means they’re gonna be generating at the thick end of £60million.”

: “Which is good going for a Championship club, isn’t it? So if that is the case, then, flipping out, they must have done some bloody good deals.

“But we’ve heard plenty of football owners over the years giving it the big one, haven’t we? And then failing to deliver, particularly in the Championship.

“But it seems like Birmingham’s owners genuinely do mean business. So would you be excited if you were a Birmingham fan, Kieran?”

: “Oh, absolutely. I mean, yeah, the fact that they signed a player for £15million in league one, where the the cost control rules are pretty relaxed, mainly because for every pound you put into a club, if you’re the owners, if you put money in the form of shares, you can spend an extra pound on wages and transfer fees.

“So again, as I was saying, you can effectively buy yourself out of that division. Historically. You can’t do that in the Championship. So they will have a legacy year.

“I suspect they lost a lot of money in 2024. So they will have a legacy year of losses to deal with, and that brings its own particular set of of challenges.

“So I think the issue for Birmingham is that they’ve got to navigate PSR.

“Yes, I’d expect there it to be a record revenue for Birmingham City as far as being members of the Championship are concerned.

“But, you know, take a look at the last decade, they’ve been averaging around about £20million. Even if they get a 50 or even a 100% increase in that, the money’s gotta be spent well.

“It will be soaked up a lot of that in wages, transfer fees, overheads, and, you know, Birmingham have been quite good at losing money.

“But when they, this season, just before they were relegated, they were losing half a million pounds a week.”