Ashley waiting in the wings as Rangers share offer misses target
NEWCASTLE owner Mike Ashley is waiting in the wings with a cash rescue package as a new share issue failed to raise the £3.6 million the Rangers board were seeking.
The Union of Fans, the Rangers supporters coalition group, said the £2.7m the club did manage to raise will barely get it through to Christmas but said it would resist moves to have the billionaire Sports Direct owner become more involved.
It is understood the magnate is ready to strike a deal, even though he said yesterday he would not buy any shares through the open offer to help fund Rangers.
Speculation Mr Ashley could take over the former Scottish champions has been rife and did not disappear after Newcastle United said yesterday the Buckinghamshire-born entrepreneur would not sell the Magpies until at least the end of next season.
Rangers International Football Club plc confirmed they had managed to sell 15,667,860 shares to help fund the club, but that was just 667,860 above the minimum threshold that would have seen the offer collapse and the prospect of a second administration beckoning. It was also nearly £1m short of the net amount the board hoped to raise.
A Rangers spokesman said the completion of the share offer “strengthens our financial position and provides funds which allow the company to start implementing the strategy to rebuild and re-establish Rangers as a stable, sustainable and successful business to deliver both shareholder value and footballing success”.
A club spokesman said the share purchase “demonstrates the continuing commitment from our shareholders and we thank them for their ongoing support”. The development came after Rangers were criticised by the Union of Fans after agreeing a substantial settlement with former commercial director Imran Ahmad over his bonus dispute. Mr Ahmad had £620,000 of Rangers assets frozen over a claim he was owed a bonus of £500,000 and £120,000 legal costs.
Rangers said they had settled for significantly less than this but the club was left with working capital of just £1.2m before the share offer. The club admitted share funds raised will be used in part to pay off a £1.5m loan from shareholders Sandy Easdale and George Letham secured in February.
The Union of Fans said the concerns about the club’s financial future remained and rejected any move by Mr Ashley to increase his powerbase. It remains supportive of former Rangers director Dave King’s offer to re-invest up to £50m in the club.
Chris Graham of the fans group said: “That amount raised in the open offer is enough to get them through to the annual general meeting in October and not much further. It won’t get them past Christmas.”
Mr Ashley, who has a nine per cent stake in RIFC, has bought the stadium naming rights and struck a deal for the operation of the club’s shops. “We don’t want further involvement by Mike Ashley. He has a stranglehold over the commercial activities of the club,” said Mr Graham.
“We don’t l i ke the model at Newcastle where he is using the club as a way to advertise Sports Direct. We don’t want him to use Rangers to advertise Sports Direct. We want someone to be in charge who will build the club for the sake of the club, not for the sake of the other business.”
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