[3] In 2002, Birch left Ernst & Young to become chief executive of Chelsea, where he led the £180 million sale to Roman Abramovich in 2003.
[4] After the sale, Birch chose not to stay at the club and in October that year was appointed Chief Executive of Leeds United, overseeing the takeover by a local consortium.
Birch was given the task of overhauling the Merseyside club's finances, but resigned after a disagreement over strategy with the board and major shareholders.
Under his stewardship the club was sold to the Pompey Supporters' Trust, with Birch performing a similar feat as administrator at Heart of Midlothian in 2013.
[7] In March 2017 Portsmouth confirmed that they had retained the services of Mr. Birch during a period of negotiations with Mike Eisner and his investment vehicle Tornante regarding a takeover of the club.