City have warned prospective buyer Steve Parkin that he must deliver a better offer if his dream of uniting both Bradford clubs is to get off the ground.

The millionaire businessman has revealed his grand plan to take over the Bantams and the Bulls and form a joint sporting club in a new stadium.

But City have rejected Parkin’s initial interest, insisting he is under-valuing the club. The Bulls have also played down reports of an ambitious amalgamation.

Parkin is willing to make a £3million bid but the Bantams say they are a far more attractive proposition since the current owners eased the stadium overheads by buying the Valley Parade office block.

City also point to the potential windfall from young players they have sold on to top-flight clubs. Having raised £1.2million from Fabian Delph, the likes of Tom Cleverley and Andre Wisdom could earn them serious cash in the future.

Bantams joint-chairman Julian Rhodes wants to see a detailed business plan from Parkin, the Guiseley director who failed in a previous bid to buy his boyhood club Leeds.

“We have had a few meetings and will continue to do so but Steve’s offer isn’t enough as it stands,” said Rhodes.

“We’re still awaiting the details of his business plan that will indicate how his money would be spent.

“We would like to think there may come a point where we might be able to make a deal but we aren’t there at the moment.”

City want to know what Parkin – the chief executive of Brighouse-based haulage company Clipper Group – would plough in to the playing side should he come in.

While they feel the club are on solid ground off the field, investment is needed to drag the team back up the divisions.

Rhodes said: “We are a very lean club as regards non-playing costs. Having done the deal on the offices, the club’s prospects are very good. We believe we’ll be trading profitably from here on in and that will attract interest.

“People have had a look at us in the past and seen the overheads are a bit high but, with all the processes we’ve been through in the last ten years to get costs down, we are ripe to build the team back up.

“Most of the money we make from non-football activities now will go into the team. Steve talks about putting a management team in place but I’m not keen if all this money is going to be invested into non-productive staff, ie highly-paid executives.

“I don’t believe it’s necessary, which is why we want to see his business plan.

“One thing that really lacks the structure it needs is the football side. We’re building up the scouting system and are genuinely excited about the players we hope will come through in the next few years.

“We also have a number of valuable contracts out in the field with lads we sold to Premier League clubs. That should generate large sums of money in the future, as happened with Fabian Delph.”

Rhodes and Mark Lawn have both stated they would step aside if someone came in to take the club forward. But the price has to be right.

Rhodes said: “We aren’t just going to walk away. The current shareholders have over £5.5million invested in Bradford City, not to mention the millions my dad and I had to write off in the old company.”

Parkin, who made an unsuccessful bid to buy Wakefield Wildcats in February, is also believed to have contacted former Bulls chairman Chris Caisley, who is still the single largest shareholder at Odsal.

Current supremo Peter Hood said: “Our position is the same today as it’s always been during my time here.

“If any credible individual or group want to talk about proposals involving investment, we’d be happy to do that. But I’ve never spoken to Steve Parkin.

“And again, no-one has approached us to talk about the two clubs working together other than the recent conversations about ground-sharing.

“In the meantime, we continue to engage with Bradford Council and with private sector developers with a view to turning Odsal into a stadium that is fully fit for purpose for the 21st century.”