Birmingham Give Yeung a Christmas Deadline

David Sullivan, Birmingham City's plc chairman and co-owner, will call time on Carson Yeung's takeover plans and increase his own shareholding at St Andrew's if the Hong Kong-based businessman has not completed a deal for the club by late December. Yeung paid £15m for a 29.9% stake in Birmingham two months ago with the intention of gaining full control, but the lack of progress has prompted Sullivan to think again.

"We could still be at Birmingham for ever," Sullivan said. "There is no deal done. It's possible they will come up with a bid before Christmas and we will sell to them. It could be the end of December but, for me, D-day is the end of Christmas and by then, if nothing happens, we will not do any business with them because we will regard them as people full of false promises. And I will go in the market and buy more shares myself.

"I am prohibited from doing that at the moment [under takeover rules] but by about December 20 we will publicly announce that all deals are off and we'll go into the market. Tactically, I think it's wrong that the Chinese are the largest single shareholder. I'm on about 24% currently so I would buy up to the same 29.9% and I think David [Gold, the other co-owner] will probably do the same. We don't need to do it but I would do it."

Yeung's takeover vehicle, Grandtop International Holdings, recently issued a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange detailing the postponement of a circular "regarding a very substantial acquisition", which will now go out up to five weeks later than planned. He is understood to have had his representatives gather more financial details to put before shareholders.

Sullivan also admitted that he would consider seeking another buyer should Yeung not come through. "Having said to him, 'Buy 29.9% and then if you want to buy the rest you can', we can't really go out and sell to someone else," he added. "But if he doesn't go out and buy by the end of the year we will either buy some more shares or sell our shares to someone else. We won't let this drift on forever."