Owner Assem Allam believes he has turned Hull City into a "very attractive" proposition for buyers, but insists he will not sell to someone who does not have the club's best interests at heart.
• Assem Allam: Of course I won't give Hull City away
Although the 75-year-old's current focus is on re-branding the club as Hull Tigers through a formal arbitration process with the FA, he has reiterated that he will not hesitate to sell up should a bid to overturn the original April 9 ruling fail.
With the club now openly for sale, having been officially placed on the market five months ago, Dr Allam claims he has already fielded enquiries from a handful of interested parties.
Admitting any possible sale is still some distance off, he does not expect going public with his intentions to increase the number of possible buyers who come forward – even though the club are set to post a large profit for the last financial year.
"It must be a very attractive club to someone looking to buy," he told the Mail.
"The accounts will show we made a profit of around £8m to £8.5m last year.
"But we have just spent a deficit of £30m and that is something very different to profit.
"The club is very well managed. It has strong foundations."
When asked if he had fielded any interest, he replied: "Yes. But it's not the quality buyers I would be happy to sell to.
"I cannot say where they were from. Overseas? Yes, but it is history now anyway because those are not people I would like to hand over to."
Whilst senior City officials have been gearing up for the club's appeal for a few months now, they are more determined than ever to deliver on-the-field success.
Last week saw an influx of new signings, with £10m record signing Abel Hernandez joined at the KC Stadium by Mohamed Diame for £3.5m from West Ham, as well as the season-long loan additions of Southampton's Gaston Ramirez and Hatem Ben Arfa from Newcastle.
Despite being open to offers, City's millionaire owner insists he remains 100 per cent committed to the club and helping it to improve, starting with a second win of the new season against the Hammers on Monday night.
He insists his ongoing bid to become Hull Tigers is based solely on a desire to make the club self-financing as a global brand which, he believes, will generate new revenue streams in the short and long terms.
Having courted headlines around the world, the club's off-field activity is again diverting attention away from their on-field success.
But the owner, who prides himself on making difficult decisions, makes no apologies for this fact and says fans should know what to expect by now.
"I did not come up with anything the fans did not know or did not expect to know," he said, when asked why he chose this week to announce his appeal plans.
"If someone thinks I am calling their bluff, that's their problem.
"On April 9, we had a few weeks to the end of the season, so it was not the right time to announce as it would divert attention. There was no urgency or benefit to gain by saying the club was up for sale.
"I did not want to kill the buzz in the city and we gained by concentrating on the Premier League, the semi-final and the FA Cup final.
"I was going to announce it after the final, but the area was feeling very positive and it was not the time.
"I waited a few weeks and after that Steve Bruce came to me to say please leave it now as we are going to be busy with the signings. We didn't want to be busy with interviews and questions when we are trying to make signings, so again I could not see the benefit of announcing it.
"Then after all this was done, I found rumours were filling the area, including mentioning names of buyers and values. There were many, many rumours.
"So, that was the reason to announce it now. To stop the rumours.
"If season ticket holders are upset at this move and want to return it, we will give them their money back.
"I said this last time and the same applies to this time.
"When I saved the club I never said I was saving a sacrosanct name, Hull City AFC.
"I wanted to save top quality football in this area for the benefit of the community and Hull's worldwide reputation.
"My main objective was always to keep improving the quality of football. I wanted to take us to the highest level possible for football reasons and to put Hull and East Yorkshire on the map."
• Dean Windass: It would be disappointing to see Allam's contribution soured
• Fans' reaction: Andy Dalton and Phil Ascough on 'for sale' announcement
