King insists that he won’t sell Rangers shares

RANGERS chairman Dave King has stressed he has no intention of selling his shareholding as part of a deal that will bring in Stuart Gibson as a significant new Ibrox investor. Gibson, born in Paisley but a long-time resident in Japan, is one of two Asia-based businessmen who are expected to plough money into

Rangers in a forthcoming share issue aimed at raising around £20million. That impending development had raised speculation that King could offload a 25.5-per-cent stake held by his family firm, New Oasis Asset Limited. The South Africa-based businessman revealed at the club’s AGM in November that he would be ending a five-year stint as chairman during 2020, but yesterday he insisted he would not be giving up his shares. ‘I am not selling any shares,’ said King. ‘As I said at the AGM, we will raise new

funds. No existing shareholders are selling.’ Gibson will join the likes of Douglas Park, George Taylor, George Letham and Julian Wolhardt as key financial backers at Rangers. Currently vice-chairman, Park is expected to replace King (below) as head of the board. Gibson accrued his wealth in the property business and is the co-founder and joint executive of Hong Kong-headquartered development group ESR. He is thought to have decided to get involved at Rangers after meeting Taylor, an investment banker based in Hong Kong, and had planned to take in last Sunday’s Old Firm match at Ibrox before it was shelved as football responded to the coronavirus pandemic. Gibson’s money will help the Ibrox outfit deal with the financial impact of the global crisis. The club’s most recent annual report, issued in November, showed an £11.3m loss and forecast a need for a further £10m in investment before the season ended. Speaking in an interview in Japan last year, Gibson outlined the extent of his dedication to succeeding in business in the Far East. ‘I was first assigned to Japan in 1987, so I’ve been living and working in this part of the world for well over 30 years now,’ he said. ‘Basically, I go to work every day. In fact, I actually live at my work. The only time I am not at my offices is when I am on business trips. I actually live in my offices all the time so, if necessary, I can make important decisions immediately. It works well for me. ‘I’ve faced enormous challenges in Japan. We had the financial crisis and we had only just recovered from that when we were hit with the 2011 earthquake. I’ve been through a lot here. ‘So that encouraged us to move into business in China, Singapore and South Korea and expand. I’ve been managing assets valued at £250m for the past ten years and we employ staff around the world. ‘For me, I see enormous growth and development in the Japanese market and it’s where I see my future.’