W here next for Charles Green and Zeus Capital?
Their Sevco consortium currently owns the business and assets of Rangers, but does not have the support of the fans, who are not buying season tickets; the leading players do not trust the new owners and so intend to leave on free transfers; and now enough Scottish Premier League clubs have indicated their intention to vote no to the newco's league share application on July 4 that they have effectively been given notice of moving to the lower leagues.
The Rangers newco eventually will start next season in the first or third division, depending on the outcome of talks about merging the SPL and Scottish Football League. With Zeus Capital unable to build their investment book, and Sevco being chronically underfunded, there seems a credible danger that the new company could suffer its own insolvency event. Dave King was among many to voice concerns about the consortium's ability to fund the club, while at least one major bank refused corporate banking and credit facilities.
It is seven weeks since Green appeared on the scene, and in that time he has only generated a series of questions. Who owns Rangers? Green pledged that he would reveal all of his investors on the day his consortium was either successful with its Company Voluntary Arrangement – which could never have been the case with such a weak proposal – or bought the business and assets. Apart from releasing a handful of names, some of which were just fund managers and one of which – Ian Hart – immediately denied he was an investor since he is a financial backer of the consortium set up by Douglas Park and Jim McColl, there's been no information.
Whose money is Zeus Capital managing? The Manchester investment bank claims to have played a role in the original flotation of Manchester United, but neither Brian Stockbridge or Imran Ahmed, who are now on the board at newco Rangers, were with the company at the time. Zeus has two seats on the board, so exert considerable influence on the decision-making process, but there has been no explanation of who they are representing.
Why did it take until last Thursday for Green to send an email to the players? Legal opinion on the TUPE regulations and the process of staff contracts transferring from the oldco to the newco seem firmly established, but Green chose to try to force the players to move to the newco. He did not set a time frame, as laid down by the legislation to give individuals the opportunity to reject the move, and nor did he seek to talk to the players and address their concerns. Many are uncertain about what the future holds for Sevco and understandably do not wish to harm their careers, but there was a willingness to move if the right owners were in place, then leave later in the summer, at least allowing the club to raise some money in the transfer market.
Why did Green not even try to ensure this? Instead, he is now threatening legal action, but he also has running costs to address. More players are expected to register their refusal to move to the newco before pre-season training starts on Thursday, which is also pay day. Can Green and Zeus Capital meet the ongoing running costs without season ticket revenue?
Both publicly and in a meeting with the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund last Wednesday, Green claimed that season ticket revenue would be ring-fenced in a secure account. He said this despite Lloyds Bank, the oldco's bankers, advising Green and Duff & Phelps that the current banking arrangements do not constitute a secure account. Instead, all the season ticket money is available to the administrators. There was also no means in place to transfer the money, because Sevco did not have the necessary corporate banking facilities.
Where are the investors going to come from for a club that is in the first or third division? One major investor was initially prepared to fund Green's consortium for up to £4m as it pursued a CVA, only to pull out after doing due diligence on the books at Ibrox and on his fellow investors. So what leeway is there now for attracting outward investment?
Rangers needs to be rebuilt piece by piece, yet so far there has only been a series of mis-steps. Green and Zeus Capital face a series of obstacles just to maintain their credibility.
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