WALKING AWAY
Ibrox chief reveals he’ll leave in the New Year and insists: ‘The crisis is now finally behind us’
RANGERS chairman Dave King is quitting Ibrox because “the crisis is behind” the club. At the annual general meeting yesterday, Rangers posted £11.3million losses and said another
BY MICHAEL GANNON £10m funding was needed for the rest of the season.
But King, who will leave early next year, said: “I would not step down if the club continued to need my services. But it doesn’t.
“The crisis is now finally behind us and normal activities can resume.”
DAVE King yesterday dropped the bombshell news that he’s quitting Rangers in the New Year – because he’s convinced the club no longer need him.
The Ibrox chairman revealed plans to step down in the next four months at their annual general meeting in Glasgow.
Rangers posted losses of £11.3million in their annual accounts and require another £10million funding for the remainder of this season.
But King said a share issue early in 2020 will wipe out the deficit and leave the club on what he believes is a firm financial footing for the future.
The South Africa-based tycoon intends to return to Johannesburg to concentrate on his business and family life following almost five years of travelling back and forth to Scotland for Rangers duties.
But as a parting shot, he shared an insight into boardroom life at Ibrox, saying: “It is a private joke between (director) Douglas Park and myself that every time I meet him I ignore the customary handshake and put my hand straight into his pocket.
“Thankfully it was always filled with cash.”
King added: “I wouldn’t step down if the club continued to need my services and support. But it doesn’t.
“The crisis is now finally behind us and normal activities can resume.
“The hard work of recovery is now done and I intend to step down from the board in the New Year – as soon as the new funding round has been concluded by the subcommittee and the new devolved operating structure for the club, that was approved yesterday, has been fully implemented.
“I now look forward to paying more attention to my South African and international businesses and to finally having the time to work with my children in the manner I had intended before my duty to Rangers put that plan on the backburner.
“The South African economy is very tough at the moment and it’s time that I redirected much more of my attention to my private affairs. “I thank all of our shareholders and fans for the absolutely magnificent support I have received.
“Despite the personal trials and tribulations, being the chairman of Rangers has been, by far, the greatest privilege of my business life and I will
continue to use my shareholding influence to support the club and its board.”
King has been hailed by some fans as the saviour of Rangers, having managed to oust the unpopular Mike Ashley-led board in 2015.
The 64-year-old was part of Sir David Murray’s board before the club’s financial collapse in 2012, where he lost up to £20million of investment.
But he was persuaded to return in 2015 to put together a consortium to challenge Sports Direct supremo Ashley’s cohorts, who were racking up losses while the team struggled to compete in the secondtier Scottish Championship.
King admitted he was reluctant to get back involved and only did so out of a sense of duty.
He said: “Re-engaging with the club was not a positive expression of
something I wanted to do or would look forward to.
“At that time, my South African businesses and my international businesses were growing rapidly.
“My adult children had just joined me in the holding company and working closely with my children was something I had very much looked forward to for some years. There were also other private time constraints on my willingness to commit the substantial time and travel for me to take on a project of the magnitude that faced Rangers at that time.
“I took some time before deciding, extremely reluctantly, to enter the fray and take a leading role in removing the previous regime.
“It was ultimately a sense of duty to present Rangers supporters and the memory of those that had gone before that overcame my natural resistance.
“I was fully aware that if we were successful in removing the old board, I would need to follow that up by committing my own time and financial resources to the recovery period.
“I was fully alert to how daunting and time-consuming this task would be, particularly for someone not resident in the UK as it would add substantial overseas travel to an already extremely busy schedule. “I have stated in public many times before, being chairman of Rangers is not an experience I have been able to enjoy. It always remained a duty.”
King claimed Rangers are in robust shape despite losses of about £25million in the last two years. He insisted he always intended to suffer short-term deficits to get the club challenging again in the Scottish Premiership and Europe.
Rangers have relied on loans from board members, with King sinking in more than £15million of his own fortune and investors Douglas Park, George Taylor and George Lethan stumping up similar sums between them.
King admitted he was grateful for the investment but the club won’t need to borrow to survive after his departure.
He added: “I have stressed on numerous occasions how uncomfortable it has been for me and my fellow board members to be overseeing the operation of a business that was making ad hoc spending decisions, particularly during transfer windows, and then requesting investors to put up the cash after it was already committed to.
“I cannot overemphasise how stressful that has been for me personally and to my fellow directors on the board as we had to juggle our personal finances to make funds available to the club at short notice. The board can re-adopt the traditional method of financial planning.”
King also addressed recent claims
HMRC miscalculated Rangers tax liabilities in 2011 that contributed to the club’s sale before plunging in to administration then liquidation.
The tax authorities denied the reports and the chairman admitted it was an issue for pre-2012 club shareholders as well as supporters.
He added: “I have no idea if HMRC have done anything wrong but my view is that there are allegations out there and if they turn out to be substantially true, as much as the club is not affected by that, as a shareholder I’d be willing to file an action against HMRC and then donate the money to the club. Was it a mistake? Was it a judgment? Until we get the information we’re just guessing.”