Birmingham 'safe' despite parent firm calling in receivers

LONDON (Reuters) - Birmingham City's future as a Football League member is assured and there is no danger of them folding despite their parent company going into receivership in Hong Kong, the Championship club said on Tuesday.

Birmingham International Holdings Limited (BIHL) said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it was calling in the receivers due to "fractious and inharmonious relations within the management".

In a statement on their website (www.bcfc.com), Birmingham explained: "The club wishes to reassure its supporters and staff most emphatically that no winding up petition has been filed against the company (BIHL) and that it is therefore not in liquidation.

"The subsidiary (BCFC) can fulfil its obligations as a member club of the Football League and shall continue to maintain a strong dialogue with the board of the Football League on this matter."

Birmingham, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2011, are 13th in the second tier having slipped behind in the promotion race after drawing four and losing one of their last five games.

BIHL have been beset by problems with chief executive Carson Yeung, the football club's former owner, currently serving a six-year jail term for money laundering.

(Reporting by Mike Collett, editing by Tony Jimenez)