Rangers Football Club has taken memberships at five Chambers of Commerce and launched a business alliance initiative as part of a bid to widen its commercial activities.
The club described The Rangers Business Alliance as an umbrella under which a number of commercial ventures will sit.
Raj Athwal, the recently appointed commercial business manager, said the tie-up with the Chambers in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Perthshire and Renfrewshire will give the Scottish Football League third division champions access to thousands of potential customers.
He said: “It gives myself and my commercial team scope to link up with over 7000 customers and to engage with other people.”
The soft launch of the alliance will be followed with a number of networking and business events in the next football season.
Mr Athwal promised more detail will be released on specific activities he plans to get off the ground in the coming months.
One ambition is for Rangers to attract new customers while offering added value through putting companies in touch with each other to look at possible cost savings or partnerships.
Mr Athwal said: “It is not about selling the football. We are not saying ‘come and have hospitality or an advertising board’.
“We are saying ‘come and utilise the football club’s resources and customers and we will help you reinvest what you put in through bringing new business leads or finding companies that can save you money’.”
While Mr Athwal admitted the transformation of off-field commercial activities will not happen overnight he believes there is a lot of potential.
He said: “What we are trying to do is bring commercialisation [of Rangers] to the 21st century and you have to think differently.
“Once we understand what the customer requires we can then see what options are available across the assets we have at Rangers Football Club.
“It might not be right for some but we will keep in touch as in five years that small company could be a big business.”
Mr Athwal said he brought in six-figure revenues using similar methods during previous roles at Coventry City and Watford.
When asked if he felt he could bring in similar levels of income at Rangers he said: “Yes, absolutely. It has worked at smaller clubs and it will work at Rangers and be a success.”
Mr Athwal said a number of companies in London and overseas have shown an appetite to get involved in Scottish football but did not give further details.
He also said he would be happy to speak with other Scottish clubs and share his ideas on how they could grow their income.
Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said: “Each of Glasgow’s major football teams are important businesses for the city.
“Together, they create hundreds of jobs while attracting legions of fans from around the world into the area, contributing massively to the leisure and hospitality sectors.
“Every football club has its own strategy for business development and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce seeks to actively support those ambitions, equally assisting any sports club in the city with similar aspirations”
David Birrell, the chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said: “We are delighted that Rangers Football Club has joined the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce. They will now be able to access our extensive membership benefits and services.
“In effect, it allows them to engage with the vibrant business community in the capital.”
In results for the seven months to December 31, 2012, Rangers International Football Club showed an operating loss of £7 million on revenue of £9.5m.
The last full set of accounts before the administration of Rangers and the subsequent relegation of the club showed turnover of £57.2m.
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