RANGERS has agreed to place property within Ibrox including the WIFI system and the stadium TV screens as security over a £3 million funding facility.
It had been known that the Manchester-based financiers Close Leasing, who have offered the working capital, had ensured the funding against the club's Edmiston House and Albion car park properties.
But now it has emerged that the financial protection required by Close to guarantee Rangers' performance on its debt obligation has been widened to include movable assets within Ibrox.
They include the stadium catering outlets said to be worth £1.567 million, the Ibrox public address systems valued at £556,000, the bowl TV (£432,000) and the WIFI system (£675,000).
The club has previously indicated that it would be the first credit facility since Sir David Murray sold Rangers to Craig Whyte in 2011.
The value of all the assets being used as collateral for the funds is estimated to be £5.53 million and was set up to cover for any possible extra costs and interest on any default. The Albion Car Park, which is directly opposite Ibrox, and at one time had space for 1200 cars has been valued for at £1.5 million, according to new documents relating to the funding deal.
Edmiston House, which stands derelict and was formerly home to Rangers FC's Social Club and ticket office, which has also been put up as collateral for the funds was valued at £800,000. Four years ago the building and the car park had been part of a redevelopment plan suggested by previous club owners that never materialised.
The deal has come about as the club struggled to get a banking facility since the liquidation of the so-called Rangers oldco RFC 2012 plc in October, 2012.
The board had said they were faced with a multi-million pound shortfall for this season and next season.
A list of conditions that have to be met include keeping the assets "in good order and where appropriate good working order" except in realtion to Edmiston House which is to be kept and maintained in "a fair condition".
The assets within Ibrox that are 'on the line' is property that can be lifted up and take away and does not include any part of the fabric of Ibrox.
Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson said after announcing the facility earlier this month that it will allow the club greater financial flexibility, “another key step towards normalising the business".
Rangers have been relying on soft loans from the club’s directors since Dave King won control at an extraordinary general meeting in March 2015.
Mr King, the club chairman had admitted that the loans were necessary to keep the club running due to the lack of a credit facility.
The latest operating company financial report signed off in November showed the business was passed as a going concern while accepting they would require at least £4 million additional funding by the end of this season "in order to meet liabilities as they fall due".
Further funding of £3.2 million was forecast to be needed next season, although the board says the final amount was dependent on football performance and whether they qualify for lucrative European football participation.
The board said it had discussed the club's forecast cash shortfall and reached agreement with Mr King's New Oasis Asset Ltd company to provide additional loans as necessary.
There were interest-free unsecured loans amounting to £15.9 million - of which £6.7 million is owed to Mr King's company.
Dave King and other investors had agreed to extend their existing loan facilities to July, next year.
The board said at the time that it was "satisfied that those parties will continue to provide financial support to the company and satisfied themselves to the validity of the undertakings".
And directors acknowledged that without the assurances then "a material uncertainty would exist which may cast doubt over the company's ability to continue as a going concern..."
The board said that financial support committed before the new credit facility was sought "more than covers the projected the shortfall for this season and beyond".
Mr Robertson had insisted there was no risk of club chairman Dave King and his fellow investors withdrawing their backing, when announcing the new funding facility.
“Dave and the other investors remain firmly behind the club. The contingency is still there if we need money for a particular project or to head into the transfer market in the summer," he said.
“A £30 million business with no bank facilities is very, very unusual."
It is not the first time Rangers have been linked with Close.
According to administrators' documents, Close Leasing had been owed £1.6 million by the Rangers oldco having had a previous security when it fell into insolvency nearly six years ago. Former owner Craig Whyte had sold future earnings from matchday catering at Ibrox to Close to pay for the lease of kitchen equipment.
Shareholders cleared the way for fresh investment in Rangers last November when they backed moves for a new share issue at the club’s AGM.
Edmiston House and Albion car park have previously been put up as insurance for Rangers financing, under the previous regime at Ibrox.
Three years ago Rangers announced they had accepted a £10 million loan offer from Mike Ashley's Sports Direct in return for a number of conditions including security over Murray Park training ground, the Albion car park and Edmiston House.
The previous year Laxey Partners announced it had used the assets as security for a £1 million loan. The club had just six months to repay the loan.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel