Rangers' largest shareholder has strengthened its influence on the club by boosting its stake in the operating company by more than 60 per cent.

The Isle of Man-based finance company Laxey Partners has bought five million shares in Rangers International Football Club plc, taking its stake up to 13m.

The £1 million investment made through the recent open offer means its grip on RIFC plc grew from 10.18 per cent, before the purchase to 16.3 per cent.

Stock exchange rules dictate that once a party owns more than 29.9 per cent of a company, it must make a full takeover offer.

The bid to raise £3.6m to help "re-build and re-establish Rangers as a stable, sustainable and successful business" through the issue of 19 million shares earlier this month, failed to realise the full amount the board were seeking.

While 15,667,860 shares were sold to provide vital working capital for the club, 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 amount the board hoped to raise.

The Union of Fans, the Rangers supporters' coalition group, said the £2.7m the club did manage to raise would barely get it through to Christmas.

Laxey had been entitled to buy just over 2.5 million shares through the club's share offer. But the activist investment group doubled its shareholding by subscribing to even more shares which became available because qualifying stakeholders had not subscribed to their full entitlement.

The RIFC board intends to seek permission from shareholders at this year's annual meeting to allow it to raise further funds from a wider share issue.

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley's stake in the club fell following the share issue.

The Sports Direct tycoon owns three million shares in the Ibrox club which had given him more than 4.5 per cent of the shareholder voting rights.

A new stock exchange filing confirms that Mr Ashley has not taken up the offer of further investment, but his stake in RIFC plc was diluted by the new share offering by almost 20 per cent to 3.68 per cent. Laxey has been described as an "activist shareholder" in various companies, where it has purchased a small stake and used its position to call for the removal of board members over poor performance of firms.

It received more than half a million shares from former chief executive Charles Green in a deal struck the previous October.

In December, it is believed they forced the club's then finance director Brian Stockbridge to return a controversial £200,000 bonus. Fans were told by Colin Kingsnorth, chairman of Laxey, that the company had insisted on the return of the bonus or they may not support Mr Stockbridge's re-election to the board. The following month it was announced Mr Stockbridge had left the club.

RIFC said Mr Stockbridge had agreed to return the bonus, which he accepted for Rangers winning last season's third division title, and a cheque would be provided "in the next day or two".

In March, Rangers cancelled a controversial £1m loan agreement with Laxey in favour of a cheaper deal with another shareholder.

Rangers announced via the stock exchange that major shareholder Laxey had transferred the credit facility to George Letham, who had made a public offer to the club in the wake of criticism of the original deal.

Laxey stood to make £150,000 on the six-month loan while a combined £1.5million loan from the hedge fund and football club chairman Sandy Easdale was secured against the Edmiston House and Albion car park properties adjacent to Ibrox Stadium.