Rangers payouts boost

Refunds possible after legal bid is dropped by investment company

CREDITORS could start to receive payouts from the liquidated Rangers oldco later this year after a company abandoned a legal claim for the whole of the £18 million payout pot.

The claim made by investment firm Worthington Group, launched a year ago, meant an interim £10m payout to unsecured creditors had to be postponed.

Oldco liquidators BDO had hoped to make the first payouts at the end of July last year, to the tune of around seven pence in the pound.

The claim on the creditors’ payout pot, submitted in the name of Rangers FC Group and originally rejected by oldco liquidators BDO, was for up to £25m.

The Court of Session claim, if successful, would have made Rangers FC Group the only secured creditor and first in line ahead of all other unsecured debtors – including the taxman – in any payout.

Rangers FC Group was formerly known as Wavetower, the company formed to buy Sir David Murray’s 85.3 per cent stake in Rangers for a nominal £1 in 2011.

It is now controlled by Worthington which has claimed it holds a security over the assets of the oldco RFC 2012 plc. It is claimed the security was reassigned to the company after an £18m bank debt was paid off as a condition of the purchase of Rangers from Sir David Murray.

The Herald understands it has been confirmed to liquidators BDO that the claim on the whole of the creditors’ pot will be replaced by a new claim of £3m.

It is understood the liquidators intend to be in a position to provide an initial dividend to creditors later this year, once an amended claim is confirmed.

Worthington Group also has control of Sevco 5088, the firm fronted by former Rangers executive Charles Green to buy the the liquidated assets of Rangers in 2012.

Worthington said in October last year that it would stake a claim over Rangers’ business and assets.

Sevco 5088 was identified by administrators Duff and Phelps as being the newco that was “contractually obliged” to purchase the assets and business of operating company RFC 2012 plc out of administration.

One creditor said: “This process has been going on for four years and it is good to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel with regard to getting at least some of our money back.”

The liquidators are looking at making the payout despite continuing to fight the long-running “Big Tax Case” at the Supreme Court.

BDO was successful in an application to the Court of Session in March to be granted leave to make a legal challenge to the highest appeal court in the land.

They sought to contest a Court of Session decision in November that Rangers’ use of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) from 2001 until 2010 to give millions of pounds of tax-free loans to players and other staff broke tax rules.

The result of the case was expected to have a major bearing on the amount of money given to creditors from the liquidation.

The original November judgment meant the taxman, in one of the biggest claims it has ever pursued, won its claim Rangers oldco were liable for a £46.2m plus charges bill over the use of EBTs.

Liquidators had previously confirmed that £72m of the £94.4m owed to HMRC relies on the taxman’s claim that Rangers was liable for its use of EBTs.

Its failure to win that would cut the maximum debt down from around £160m to £96.8m.

A taxman victory would have meant minimal payouts to other creditors.

However the extra costs from a protracted court case would be expected to further reduce the creditors pot which in June, last year, stood at £18m.

Worthington was approached for comment.

‘‘ This process has been going on for four years and it is good to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel