Green plans to be revealed

Chief football writer

Friday 25 May 2012

RANGERS' administrators Duff & Phelps plan to release full details of the Charles Green consortium's takeover plans today and ask creditors to vote it through.

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Michael Grant

The proposal being put to those who are owed money by Rangers is to accept a specified pence-in-the-pound return and allow the club to come out of administration via a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

Creditors will be invited to vote for that at a meeting, probably held at Ibrox, 16 days after the proposal goes out. There would then be a 28-day "cooling off" period before the CVA would be formally approved.

Duff & Phelps has come under heavy criticism, with a BBC Scotland documentary alleging a conflict of interest because senior partner David Grier had acted as a consultant to owner Craig Whyte during the takeover. The programme claimed Mr Grier worked on the deal to fund Whyte's takeover using money raised from selling season-ticket rights to Ticketus. Mr Grier denies that and said he believed money from Ticketus would be used to provide some working capital, but not to fund Whyte's entire buyout. "I don't think I would have any problem with a full investigation of the process," joint-administrator Paul Clark told The Herald, but he said the immediate priority was to work on a CVA.The CVA proposals were due to be released on Monday but, barring any late hitches, they will come out on the club's official website today. "We're almost there now, albeit a bit later than everyone had hoped," said Mr Clark. "They are going to be substantial documents and when they are issued and made available publicly I'm sure there will be a lot of interest in what Charles Green has to say."Mr Green's consortium proposes a £8.5 million takeover. Mr Clark said he had been shown proof of funds for both the buyout and Rangers' running costs until a CVA is approved. They will become heavily loss-making again from June 1 when the players' temporary pay cuts end. The earliest the club could come out of administration would be around July 9.Mr Clark claimed that two main creditors who could block a CVA, Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs and Ticketus, had given him encouraging feedback. "We have had regular dialogue with both parties and we have shared with them the outcomes based on CVA and other processes and we remain confident we will be able to get the requisite approval for the CVA, because we think it is in the best interests for Rangers," he said."This would be a straightforward CVA so we're not embarking on that without thinking that we can deliver it. We have found a buyer and the bid is progressing towards its conclusion."Whyte's floating charge over Ibrox and Murray Park had been rendered irrelevant by the deal he had signed with Mr Green, said Mr Clark. He added: "My understanding is that as part of the documentation between Mr Whyte and Mr Green the floating charge – such that it could have any value – will fall away. It will have no value. He could sit there with a floating charge registered at Companies House, but it has no value because he didn't actually pay any money into the bank or the company to acquire any value." That meant Whyte could not block a CVA, said Mr Clark.However, the accusations against Mr Grier, and the delays and confusion in finding a buyer for Rangers, appeared to have turned many against Duff & Phelps. "Virtually every fan is unhappy with their performance," said John Macmillan of Rangers Supporters' Association. "I think Duff & Phelps' handling of this administration has been a shambles."

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Green plans to be revealed

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