THE FANS WHO WOULD BE KING
Gers chief takes £2m hit to sell shares to supporters
DAVE King announced last night that he is selling his entire stake in Rangers to give fans ownership of the club.
The former Ibrox chairman has offered his shares to supporters’ group Club 1872 for £13million.
It means he will write off more than £2million but King said: “If I take a small financial knock, I’m happy that’s just a further contribution to the restoration of the club.”
DAVE King will write off more than £2million to give Rangers fans ownership of their club.
The former Ibrox chairman has agreed to sell his entire shareholding to fans’ group Club 1872 for £13million – well below its current market value.
He claimed last night the move meant that “never again” would Rangers fans be disconnected from the club.
King is the club’s biggest single shareholder, with a stake of just more than 20 per cent.
Club 1872 – who have been attempting a supporter-led takeover – currently hold more than five per cent of the shareholding.
It means the purchase of King’s stake would give them more than 25 per cent – and a major say and the power to block any possible resolutions in the Ibrox boardroom.
The South African- based businessman has made the offer to the influential fans’ group to ensure there is no repeat of 2012, when
Rangers were liquidated and dropped to the bottom tier of the Scottish game.
He said: “I haven’t actually done the calculations, but I would guess it’s a loss of around £2.3million.”
King returned to the board in 2015, winning control of the club after a bitter battle with Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley after an extraordinary general meeting at Ibrox.
He claimed it was always his plan to give fans more power at Rangers after he took control in the wake of the disastrous era of former owner Craig Whyte and ex-CEO Charles Green.
King said: “I’ve invested over £ 40million in the club in total through the years but with the second investment (in 2015), I was clear from day one that I reluctantly got involved again.
“From my perspective it gives me satisfaction to have been associated with the club through the difficult times we have had and see it competing for Scottish titles and competing in Europe again.
“Having worked with Club 1872, I feel I have an opportunity now to deliver a level of influence to supporters going forward.
“If I take a small financial knock of a couple of million pounds, I’m happy that’s just a further contribution to the restoration of the club.”
King added: “During regime change and throughout my chairmanship, I have advocated for increased supporter influence at the shareholder level and I provided opportunities for Club 1872 to participate in every share issue that was undertaken.
“I did this partly to express my appreciation to those supporters and supporter groups who actively assisted me in securing regime change and partly to ensure that all supporters (whether shareholders or not) retain an influential voice in directing the affairs of their club. It is my sincere hope that ‘Never Again’ will supporters become as disconnected and disempowered as they were at the time of my re-engagement with the club over six years ago.
“After completion of my service as chairman I took time to consider how I can create a final legacy by giving supporters – including future generations – substantial shareholder influence for the first time in the almost 150 years history of our club.”
King said: “I do not intend to profit from my efforts over the last six years to save our club, even though the club is now substantially more valuable partly through my efforts.
“I am happy that supporters get this increased value as without them we would not have achieved the full recovery that was completed with the recent fund raise.
“I have agreed therefore to transfer my shares to Club 1872 at my historical cash cost of acquisition – which includes professional fees – and to allow Club 1872 a period of three years to build up the supporter backing that will be necessary to achieve this.
“I have coined the term ‘Never Again’ as I truly believe that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make supporters – in perpetuity – the No1 shareholder in the club.”
Club 1872 director Laura Fawkes said: “This is a huge moment for both Club 1872 and the Rangers support.
“We are very grateful to Dave King for his faith in Club 1872 and the Club 1872 board and for his ongoing commitment to ensuring that the ownership structure of Rangers remains a very healthy mix of wealthy individuals and the wider supporter base.
“As Club 1872 directors, we are very proud to present this opportunity to the Rangers support.
“We now need over 20,000 Rangers supporters to take up the baton, join Club 1872 and ensure that the
events of 2012 can never happen again. It would be a seminal moment for both Rangers Football Club and the supporters if we could achieve the position of being the largest shareholder in Rangers in time for the 150th anniversary of the club in 2022.”
The structure of the deal gives Club 1872 three years to complete the purchase – with the opportunity to purchase the entire shareholding prior to December 2021 for an even lower price of 20p per share.
King took charge at Ibrox in 2015. Paul Murray and John Gilligan also joined him on the board as Derek Llambias and Barry Leach were voted off.
King later became chairman but it was announced at the 2019 AGM that he would be stepping down.
He left in March this year with another lifelong fan, Douglas Park, taking over as chairman.