KING EYES RANGERS RENAISSANCE
Chairman hopes new share issue can launch Gerrard era
FRESH from the appointment of Steven Gerrard as manager last Friday, Dave King was back at Ibrox yesterday to address some of the other issues that have surrounded Rangers.
The club’s forthcoming share issue, its financial future, King’s dispute with the Takeover Panel, the treatment of Graeme Murty, recent resignations of directors and the possibility of Sir David Murray returning to the table were among the topics covered in a wide-ranging press conference.
Here, Sportsmail relays the key questions as King and managing director Stewart Robertson faced the media.
How much fresh money will the share issue raise?
Dave King: ‘At the moment, I’m thinking probably £6million new cash and the balance converted to loans. Once Steven (Gerrard) and Mark (Allen) have had a chance to look at the squad, it may change. I would say it would definitely take place by the end of June. It will be in sufficient time for all the close-season activity that we are looking to do.’
What can you say about the possibility of new external investment in Rangers?
DK: ‘At this stage, there is nothing other than existing shareholders and investors. We’re not talking to anyone new who’s not there already.’
There was a suggestion recently that Sir David Murray may seek to get involved again. What chance?
DK: ‘Zero per cent would be a bit on the high side.’
Will you increase your own investment in the club?
DK: ‘I’ve already done that in advance of next season. One of the factors involved is getting our licence and because we run a deficit deliberately, we’ve always got to satisfy the licensing authorities — the SFA and UEFA — that we have sufficient funds to fund our deficit. We’ve already had to give cash guarantees in advance of next season. Whether we raise money from the rights issue or not, I’m in for the money because, right now, I’m underpinning the cash.’
What is the total of your commitments to Rangers so far?
DK: ‘In terms of commitments in cash, I am probably in for a bit over £30m at the moment. I don’t know where it’s going to go to. It depends how well Steven does next year.’
Has that been £30m well spent?
DK: ‘Off the pitch, there’s been huge progress. We wouldn’t have got Steven Gerrard if there wasn’t. The area where it’s not working well is on the pitch. That’s something we have to deal with.’
When will Rangers return to profitability?
DK: ‘Not in the foreseeable future. Because we are not going to run it to make a profit in the foreseeable future. I would expect us only to start making a profit when we are back playing Champions League. Until that point, I think we are going to have to continue funding the deficit every single year.’
Was Graeme Murty undermined by you or your board?
DK: ‘Graeme certainly wasn’t undermined by anything I did. My relationship with him remains good. Every time we met, it was always clear to him he was an interim manager and very unlikely to get the job. He was there until the end of the season and he got that. What changed wasn’t internally. What changed was a focus outside the club with people saying he has done well and should be named as full-time manager. Graeme knew that if he ended up two or three points behind Celtic and won the cup he’d be a candidate.
‘As far as what went on inside with some of the senior players, do I think he was treated shabbily? Not by the club but I think some of his senior players didn’t show him the level of respect for what he was doing for the club at a very difficult time. He wasn’t coming in as a complete, accomplished manager. He was coming in to do us a favour and I think he was undermined partly by some of his own senior players. Not by the board. We continue to support him. The relationship remains strong and he is most welcome to come back into his old position.’
Kenny Miller is out of contract this summer, but could there be a future for Lee Wallace, who has also been suspended?
Stewart Robertson: ‘We need to wait until the investigation is completed. A lot of people were there on the day so a lot of people were interviewed but we are getting towards the end of that.’
Could Rangers benefit from Gerrard’s links at Liverpool?
DK: ‘If you were at Liverpool certainly, and other clubs probably, you’ve got a chance to put a guy for a year or two with Steven Gerrard and Gary McAllister and what they’re going to get week in and out and playing for Rangers. Would I rather they went there or played for Hull in the Championship? I would think if the player was of that quality and Steven wanted them, they would be better giving them to Rangers knowing, at the end of that loan period, they would have had the experience and exposure to be in a really smart, winning team.’
Why have Paul Murray and Barry Scott resigned as directors?
DK: ‘I think Barry is going through a personal situation with his businesses and bits and pieces where he feels he can’t give his time and attention to the club at this point. Paul, I don’t actually know and you are probably better finding out from Paul. His resignation was a surprise to me. I just got an email saying he was going to resign. Having said that, I completely understand it. Being a Rangers director is not fun and there is a pressure on those in Glasgow in particular. There is a strain and stress and perhaps he has just had enough.’
Was there friction between you?
DK: ‘No, no. Paul has been fantastic and walked this long way with us. He has been there. I have not had the chance to really talk it out yet.’
Will new directors also be investors?
DK: ‘I would like a couple of directors who are completely independent, who are not investors, who don’t have loans,
who don’t have shares and are not Rangers fans. They can come and give the opinion on the rights and wrongs of running the company.’
Where are you with the Takeover Panel and the £11million offer for the remaining shares in Rangers?
DK: ‘They asked me for proof of funds which we gave them. They then asked for the funds to be ring-fenced in a separate account to make sure the funds could only be used for the purpose of the shares. We agreed to that. Then, about two weeks ago, the Takeover Panel approached me again and said they are unhappy now with the funds being held in South Africa and they would like them relocated to the UK to be held in a UK bank account in sterling. I said: “I am happy to do that”.
‘But I don’t have facilities in the UK. I would have to open a bank account, which I have agreed to do. I said: “That now requires an extension of the offer period”. I can’t do the various things you have to do with the banks in time to make the deadline. They didn’t grant the extension. That is where we are stuck right now. I have gone back to them and said: “I am going to take that under review because this is something you only asked for two weeks ago.”
‘I think they’ve got a lot of things wrong. I think they’ve tried, in my view, to bully me. I think the Takeover Panel have been bullies. You can’t ask me to do it, get my acceptance to do it and not give the extension to comply. That’s absurd.’
How does this situation impact on your participation in the share issue?
DK: ‘I can only increase in proportion to my existing holding, so I can’t increase my shareholding in the process, which is fine. I am happy to keep advancing loans. I am not fussed about having shares, I will give loans. It doesn’t bother me in the least.’
What has been the attitude of other directors and shareholders to the Takeover Panel issue?
DK: ‘Nobody has even discussed it. If it wasn’t for you guys, we wouldn’t be talking about this. It has nothing to do with the football club.’
But could sanctions against you not impact on Rangers?
DK: ‘No. First of all, the assumption is they’d achieve that. I don’t think they will. I have spent a lot of my life with people telling me what they are going to do to me. Twenty years. I’m still here. I wouldn’t assume who is going to win that fight. Secondly, sanctions themselves on me would have no impact on me. I don’t do business in the UK. I don’t deal with any institutions. I don’t have public companies in the UK. I would make a decision whether I was comfortable with it or not. Sanctions would make no difference to me and it would make no difference to Rangers.’
Have you had any indication of how many existing shareholders would accept your 20p offer?
DK: ‘I think pretty much nothing. Nothing.’