KING TRIES FINAL PLEA TO ASHLEY
Ibrox chief is hoping for negotiations
DAVE KING hopes Sports Direct could yet seize the chance to avoid a fresh round of court battles with Rangers by opening negotiations to resolve their feud. The Ibrox chairman yesterday released a statement to mark the first anniversary — which fell on Sunday — of the boardroom regime change he spearheaded. The club also revealed unaudited figures which show a reduction in operating losses to £500,000 for the six months to December 2015.
King detailed several areas of progress on and off the field, insisting plans were already progressing to sign players this summer ahead of an expected return to the Premiership.
However, the conflict with Mike Ashley’s firm still looms in the background, with King decrying the ‘corporate and personal bullying’ of recent court actions.
The South Africa-based businessman was one of a number of Rangers investors who funded repayment of a £5million loan the previous board accepted from Sports Direct. And King revealed club directors are now close to finalising legal plans to address various merchandising agreements, which they feel are excessively weighted in favour of Ashley’s retail giant.
‘It is unfortunate that it required the repayment of the expensive so- called “i nterest- f ree” l oan before we were able to give notice on the agreement with Sports Direct or to take legal action to protect the club’s interests and seek restitution,’ said King.
‘This bizarre state of affairs was caused by poorly negotiated agreements prior to regime change, during which personal interest was put ahead of those of the club. Some of the individuals negotiating on behalf of Rangers had a clear conflict of interest. A joint venture should be based on trust and that is clearly absent on both sides.
‘We have now had sufficient time to analyse t he voluminous documentation supporting the establishment of the numerous agreements and side agreements with Sports Direct.
‘Discussions have commenced with our legal advisors to review our findings and to devise the most effective legal strategy. This will be presented to the board for approval at the end of this month.
‘ It remains possible that the seemingly inevitable lengthy and costly litigation can be avoided. There is a far better alternative if Sports Direct recognises that the present arrangements are not working f or either party and agrees to renegotiate the present arrangements to create the win-win situation that should have been reflected in the original agreements i f Rangers had an ef f ective negotiating team at that time.
‘It would be an immediate boost for Rangers if the board can be put into a position to endorse a revised deal prior to the launch of new kit for the coming season. It would be great to see our supporters once again being able to wear kit at games while being certain that their purchases will benefit the club and the team.’
The £ 500,000 operating l oss Rangers reported yesterday is a reduction from £4.6m for the same period in the previous year.
A club statement also confirmed a total of £9.25m in interest-free l oans had been provided by shareholders at December 31, with ‘additional funds committed to cover the balance of the financial year to June 2016’.
‘The club continues to require funding to meet its ongoing cash shortfall,’ said King. ‘This has largely been provided by me and the Three Bears. However, we have recently spread the investor base by securing a portion of the required i nvestment f r om a group of Hong Kong-based supporters.
‘I will continue to look for likeminded investors who can share the financial burden. The recent history of Rangers has shown it is better to have more investors than few. In time, we hope to see the broadbased supporters group having an increased stake in the club.’
Those investors will be required to help f und transfer plans during the summer as Rangers — currently 12 points clear at the top of the Championship — seek to become re- established as a competitive top-flight force.
And King believes rival clubs will be hoping they finish the promotion job to provide a boost to the Premiership.
‘A completely new management team led by Mark Warburton has been i ntroduced and a more youthful and vibrant squad of players assembled,’ said King.
‘Mark and the football executive are already working on the player recruitment plan for the close season when we will bring in a number of new players to meet our ambitions.
‘ Many of t he clubs in t he Premiership will also be hoping Rangers are promoted because Scottish football has suffered on many levels since our club went down to the bottom division.’