Bank deal is another small step forward for Rangers

FOR years, confusion was the new normality and uncertainty was the only predictability at Ibrox as Rangers’ fortunes, on and off the park, fluctuated and supporters were left fearing about the future.

The strides taken on the road to recovery have, at times, been followed by steps back but the clouds that once hung over the club have dissipated as progress has been made at all levels.

It is what happens on a match day that will always be the main priority and concern for Gers fans. But, understandably, there are few supports that take as much interest in finance as well as football, that keep an eye on events in the boardroom as much as the dressing room.

Rangers have agreed a banking deal with the Close Brothers Group and Managing Director Stewart Robertson believes it is another sign of the progress that has been made, and that the Light Blues want to make.

“We have a turnover of around £30million this year and almost all businesses of that size will have a bank facility that they can use for working capital purposes,” he told SportTimes.

“You have a limit but you can dip in and out of it over time. For football clubs, the cash flow is very strong in the summer and not so strong in the winter because, in the summer, you have got season ticket money, SPFL money and a lot of the commercial money comes in in the summer.

“That is the same for all clubs and it was the same at Motherwell. You can almost draw the graph perfectly in terms of the way the cash flow would go.

“This a real vote of confidence in where we are taking the club and how we are taking the club forward to have someone like Close Brothers willing to provide us with a working capital facility.

“It is another part of normalising the club, to be honest, and you would expect any organisation, not just a football club, of this size to have banking facilities.

“This is the next step down the road in terms of getting things normalised and it is a positive thing for the club.”

The arrangement with Close Brothers gives Rangers access to a seven-figure facility as the Ibrox board look move towards a healthier financial picture in the coming years.

RIFC plc posted a loss of £6.7million for the 12 months to June 30, 2017 and investors, including chairman Dave King, will continue to provide funds going forward.

Rangers have had no access to external finance for some time and Robertson believes there is a vindication in the rebuilding work that has been done to date.

He said: “Obviously before you do something like this there is a lot of investigation into the finances and the business plan going forward and what we are proposing to do.

“We don’t want to go daft and the bank are very comfortable with the level that it is at.

“It works for both of us, which is great, and it is a vindication of how things are progressing at the club and how we are taking things forward.

“We are delighted that an or- ganisation like Close Brothers have shown confidence in the way the club is being run and our future plans and this is another step along the path and a normalisation of the business.

“That is something we have always talked about and this is a key element of that going forward so we are delighted that we have been able to do it.”

THE blueprint for the future for Rangers will centre around regaining top spot in Scotland and ensuring regular European action returns to Ibrox.

But the football department was not the only one that was left damaged by previous regimes and is not the only area of the club that requires further investment.

It is on the park where the most cash will need to be spent but, away from the quest for silverware honours, supporters will soon see improvements being put in place.

Robertson said: “What it gives us in an additional source of founds and we have a plan to grow different departments in the business, and there are projects around Ibrox that we are moving forward as well and this provides additional funding for those areas.

“Even things like the internals of the building and creating a better working environment for the staff, for example. We can invest in facilities and the surrounding areas, like the memorial garden project and hopefully we will get planning on that next month.

“We are looking at things like Fan Zones to increase the engagement on a match day and Edmiston House, so there are different things that we have pressed the button on.

“Some of them will generate revenue and some will just improve the area and hopefully that will uplift the community round about as well.

“It is about improving the club and trying to get us to the next level again from where we have been.

“We have made decent progress so far but we recognise that there is still some way to go.

“This is another element of the business that you would expect to be there for most businesses that unfortunately hasn’t been there for us but will be now.”