Whether today's Icelanders are descended strictly from those Vikings who brought rape and pillage to seaside Britain 1,300 years ago may be debatable.

But they have the same acquisitive instincts, only matched nowadays with a gift for securing the agreement of their prey.

Still, why Iceland? This nation or 280,000 people has produced Baugur, the present bidder for Somerfield and already owner of Big Food --parent, to confuse matters, of Iceland - Hamleys, Goldsmiths and Oasis. Now Bakkavor looks poised to land Geest, a fish distinctly larger than itself.

One answer lies in the zest of Birmingham's professionals and financiers - and their lack of footballing prowess.

Back in 2001, Guy Green, a partner in Eversheds, acted for Wine & Dine, a maker of dips and sauces in the Jewellery Quarter, when Bakkavor was negotiating to buy it. Now Bakkavor (Birmingham), this was the Icelanders' first venture into the UK.

A year later they set their sights on a larger target, Katsouris Foods, a Wembley maker of taramasalata, and asked Mr Green to act for them. In the course of that deal, he introduced the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank and HSBC, all in Birmingham.

He also got to know and like people at both the Icelandic investment bank Kaupthing and Baugur, the ambitious retailer. In Birmingham, the network widened to include Andy Manders at KPMG and David Beach at Heatons, who worked on Baugur's purchase of Oasis.

Mr Green advised on its purchase of Goldsmiths. In the meantime, Ben Bolt and Richard Evans of Deloittes were working for Bakkavor.

Now comes the football. In the course of all this, Mr Green encountered agreeable individuals at two Iceland pension funds. On behalf of Birmingham's corporate financial community, he challenged them to a match.

So two years ago a squad of 18 Birmingham finance professionals went to Reykjavik only to be beaten 6-1 by their Icelandic opposite numbers. The Vikings' feel-good was enhanced still further last year when they won a return fixture 2-0 in Birmingham.

That is how the wheels of international high finance turn, and the way Birmingham's professionals go global. We are going to see more of it.