RANGERS face yet another week of turbulence and speculation in the wake of the limited lifeline provided by a share issue that raised £3.13m.
Mike Ashley, the owner of Newcastle United, is poised to make a dramatic intervention to increase his influence at the club where he owns both the naming rights to the stadium and has control of the megastore at Ibrox, the outlet at Glasgow Airport and the store in Belfast.
The Sports Direct tycoon, who holds a 4.5% stake in the club, did not take up any of the 20m new shares made available to existing shareholders at the end of August. A total of 15,667,860 ordinary shares of 1p each, representing a total of approximately 78.87%, were taken up, with Rangers directors Norman Crighton, James Summers, and James Easdale increasing their stakes. But Ashley announced early yesterday that he would not be participating in the offer and sources said he had confirmed his intention not to sell Newcastle United until the end of this season. Both these occurrences should not be taken to mean that the 50-year-old businessman is no longer interested in Rangers.
There has been speculation this week that he is involved in negotiations with a Rangers board that is divided over the future direction of the club. Rangers need a substantial tranche of money, possibly in the region of £10m, just to make it to the end of the season despite the reprieve offered by the latest share offer.
Ashley and Dave King, the South Africa-based businessman, offer the best hope of a single, game-changing infusion of cash. King remains interested, if on the sidelines at the moment. Ashley is seeking ways to increase his influence without falling foul of the rules that prevent him owing two clubs.
It is understood that the businessman believes Rangers are a hugely cost-effective way of increasing the brand awareness of his sportswear empire and he has allies on the Ibrox board. However, there is opposition to him in the Blue Room and among supporters who accuse him of having "parked his tanks on the Ibrox lawn".
With Rangers facing an annual general meeting next month - and hopes of a share offer that could bring tens of millions lying dead in the water - Ashley is pressing
his claims as a rescuer of the club.
King, meanwhile, is still in the frame,
even though his silence has been deafening.
A City source, who has investment at Rangers, last night told The Herald: "There is no doubt that Ashley is making some sort
of play for Rangers. The details are hard to discern but he is not going away. I have not heard from King since his campaign to gain control of the proxy on shares. In this type
of game, he who hesitates has lost but
King has played for bigger stakes than
this. He almost certainly has another
move in him."
One major player in the Rangers saga
has appeared to move away from the table. Imran Ahmad, the former commercial director, has settled his dispute with the club.
Fans, concerned about the growing influence of Ashley, were appalled at the Ahmad deal. The Union of Fans, an umbrella group of supporters' organisations, said
it was "utterly dismayed" at the development, accusing the board of being "wasteful
and a disgrace to Rangers" after previously promising to "robustly defend" the action.
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 it had settled for "significantly less" than this sum.
In a statement to the Stock Exchange,
the club said: "Rangers have agreed formal terms of settlement with former commercial director Imran Ahmad regarding his current court action. The sum agreed is significantly less than the total amount which Mr Ahmad had been granted permission to arrest.
"As part of the settlement terms
Mr Ahmad has agreed to refrain from arresting funds in Rangers' bank account
or in the hands of others pending the
formal removal of the case from court.
"No such arrestment will now take place. The case will be formally taken out of court in the next few days."
Ahmad claimed he was owed a £500,000 bonus from Rangers for negotiating
the club's kit deal. Last week, he had the money ring-fenced by the courts after Rangers said it would be unable to pay bills if the rights issue failed. On Tuesday, Rangers were granted leave to challenge
the decision to freeze the money.
A judge had said granting Rangers
the right to appeal would help raise fresh cash and ultimately "benefit both parties".
The statement released by the Union
of Fans said: "That this board saw fit
to waste money fighting three court
cases against Mr Ahmad to then settle
with him is beyond parody. This board
is incompetent, wasteful and a disgrace
to Rangers Football Club."
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