How wealthy are Birmingham City's owners? | OneFootball

Birmingham City have plenty of cause for optimism on and off the pitch during the early stages of their 13th successive Championship season.

The Blues are now under new ownership and have enjoyed a generally positive start to the campaign, losing just two of their opening eight matches.

Birmingham are the longest-serving club in the Championship, where they have remained since suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2011 - the year they also won the Carabao Cup following a dramatic 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the final at Wembley.

But, other than a fourth-place finish and play-off semi-final in their first season back - also featuring in the Europa League following their Carabao Cup success - the Blues have never really threatened a genuine challenge to return to the top flight.

In fact, they have finished in the bottom eight in each of the last seven seasons, while it took a last-ditch Paul Caddis header away at Bolton Wanderers to prevent relegation to League One on the final day of the 2013-14 campaign.

However, the club are definitely on an upward curve with John Eustace in charge and now in a position to bring in decent permanent signings, including the likes of Tyler Roberts and Ethan Laird during the most recent transfer window from Leeds and Manchester United respectively.

And as well as the takeover, they received another huge boost off the field with the appointment of six-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady as a minority owner and chairman of a new advisory board.

So, who are the new owners of Birmingham City? How much are they worth? And who is the man at the front of it all? Well, keep reading as we try to provide you with all the key information.

Who are the owners of Birmingham City?

An affiliate of asset management company Knighthead Capital Management, Shelby Companies Ltd (SLC) became controlling shareholders of Birmingham last July, taking shares of 45.6 per cent and complete control of St Andrew's.

While Birmingham Sports Holdings retain 51 per cent of the shares, new chairman Tom Wagner confirmed SLC are "responsible for the operations of the club moving forward".

Back in 2008, Wagner founded Knighthead Capital - a company focused on long-short investments and specialising in event-driven, distressed credit and special situation opportunities across a broad array of industries.

The former managing director of Goldman, Sachs & Co, Wagner is described as a hedge fund chief and manages Shelby Companies Limited, which is part of the Knighthead Annuity & Life Assurance Company and the vehicle used to acquire the Blues.

As of July, Knighthead Capital Management were valued at around $9billion, while Wagner has an estimated net worth of around $1.6million.