Alastair Johnston, the Rangers chairman, and Craig Whyte, the club's prospective new owner, held another positive meeting yesterday before takeover talks were put on hold for the weekend.
Johnston had earlier claimed a Whyte buy-out would be “good” for Rangers and it could be that a formal offer worth around £27m for Sir David Murray’s 85% shareholding is made in the middle of next week, but the Ibrox chairman also admitted an ongoing dispute with HMRC over a major tax case remained “the gorilla in the room” in terms of the club’s overall future. The cost could be £30m.
As he presented Rangers’ interim financial figures – showing a retained profit of £9m but a decrease in turnover and season-ticket sales – Johnston took the unusual step of openly criticising the club’s lenders.
Lloyds Banking Group’s strict and unyielding business plan compromised manager Walter Smith and other senior management when it came to long-term planning, he said.
Johnston confirmed for the first time that director Donald Muir was on the board to represent Lloyds, which he said has not been in “the best interests” of the club itself. But last night the club denied earlier reports that he had said Rangers “could go bust” if they lost the tax case.
The potential takeover and major immediate investment is paramount for Rangers. “At this point in time I would hope that Craig Whyte is the right guy and he can proceed with the discussions which we have been engaged in for the last couple of weeks,” said Johnston. “If there is a meeting of the minds on that then I would answer that positively.”
Although Johnston said the board was split on whether the Whyte deal would get over the finishing line, he added: “The board are reflective of my view which is, if we can get this thing right, it will be good.”
“I think he is a businessman who is very bright and I think he has been very strategic, historically, in how successful he has been. He has done it but keeps his cards very close to his chest. I could tell that his analysis was very enthusiastic but realistic. I would say that he is aspirational but realistic.”
The negotiations continue against a backdrop of growing tension around Ibrox about the lack of quality and depth in its squad for next season. “Right now, we need more money immediately,” said Johnston. “He hasn’t been asked for £30m in the summer. What we have said right now is that what we spend in the summer doesn’t necessarily have to be repeated every year. It is cyclical. We have run down this squad to the point where it can’t continue.”
Johnston said Rangers continued to receive “reassuring opinion” from tax, accounting and legal specialists about the major HMRC case, but he was irritated by the recent emergence of a new and unrelated tax issue which needed £2.8m to settle.
“Our numbers would be £2.8m better if we didn’t have to take on this charge,” he continued. “It relates to more than two or three players but it relates to an issue ten or 11 years ago. As the Americans say, this one came right out of left-field.”
The club did not state its current debt in the half-yearly accounts although that stands at around £21m, down from £27.1m last June. Turnover came down by £4.1m to £33.7m and there was also a 4.9% drop in season ticket sales to 38,000. Retained profit came down £4.1m to £9m.
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