Blue Knights lay it on the line: Newco will fail, too late for CVA

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This afternoon the Blue Knights (plural!) held a media conference as Paul Murray and Brian Kennedy explained their “credible plan” to rescue Rangers.  The quantum of their bid was:

£5.5m cash on delivery of a CVA, £500k of which is for delivery of Craig Whyte’s shares.
£2m dependent on European earnings in the coming years.
£3.5m the company will collect from those who currently owe Rangers money.

Uefa have confirmed that they regard UK companies who dispose of debts via a CVA to have breached their insolvency rules and therefore be ineligible for European competition for 3 years.

It is likely that the administrators or any liquidator would be able to collect much or all of the £3.5m earnings from Rangers debtors.

Mr Kennedy said “the tax case is irrelevant to this CVA”.  Mr Murray was a director of Rangers during their controversial EBT period which led to the big tax case.  The tax authorities may consider the “the tax case” more relevant than Mr Kennedy.

Mr Murray and Mr Kennedy were both clearly exasperated that Duff and Phelps felt unable to accept their offer to take the club through a CVA.  Mr Kennedy could not have been clearer that attempts to establish a Newco would fail, that only a CVA would enable Rangers to survive and it was now too late for this.  On Radio Scotland last week Mr Murray explained that, in his view, a CVA was necessary as a Newco could not survive without European income for three years.

Throughout the media conference it occurred to me that perhaps they don’t know Uefa’s rule on a CVA.  Unfortunately the question was not put to either man by the media.  When asked if they knew if the other bidder had put more money on the table Mr Kennedy said, “I don’t care if [ours is]the largest bid”.  Perhaps, but creditors will, and under an enormous amount of scrutiny, Duff and Phelps are likely to car a great deal.

It will be interesting to hear how Duff and Phelps respond but in summary, my two key questions are:

Would HMRC accept a CVA from a director of Rangers during the operation of their EBT scheme?*

How deliverable is the £2m dependent on European income considering a CVA would exclude Rangers from European football for three years?

The plan was flush full of irrelevant details they had clearly spent a lot of time on, such as the non-exec support of former managers, and a Rangers FC Constitution, forbidding the club from spending more than it earned, but sounded light on how it would convince HMRC to accept a few pennies in the pound from a company with such a chequered tax history, and was potentially slapdash on the European income element.

*Mr Murray suggested he would withdraw from the consortium if Craig Whyte objected to his participation but the lack of attention to HMRC’s view on him appeared to be an obvious oversight.

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  1. My apologies to all. I left a cryptic post this morning before tee-ing off at the ole gowff. Not surprisingly, CQNers decoded it promptly. You’ve heard of Mr Green. Now I give you Mr Shephard of the Geordie tribe. Chairman of the new preferred bidders. Good luck to them, they’ll need it.

  2. the long wait is over on 11 May, 2012 at 18:58 said:

     

     

     

    Googybhoy

     

     

    Three panellists only one of whom has read the judicial report. Possibly the most important document in the public domain about Rangers.

     

     

     

    Yes and they scoff at the one who has read it. I bet some of them have never read more that 57 pages in a book in their lives.

  3. don cambello on

    how brilliant would it be if we could organize a small plane with banner “Were havin a party” flying over Ibokes at this very moment haha

  4. The gathering at the bigotdome – reminds me:

     

     

    What ever happened to the wee guy with the sandwich-boards that paraded up and down Kerrydale Street during the C-for-C demos?

     

     

    He used to chalk different messages on the boards – I am sure there is a photo somewhere with one with: the End is Nigh on it!

  5. leftclicktic on

    From some Orc pleading with BKs mouthpiece

     

    Gordy ‏@renfrewtrekker

     

     

    @SwannyMediaMan Tell Brian whatever the cost please do it. Thousands of us have millions to invest that no other consortium will get.

     

    WAAAAAAHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

  6. googybhoy

     

     

    At 18:57 a hun reported on FF that there were 14 people at the Scrapyard!!

     

     

    Oops, thread has just been deleted, wonder why???

  7. BT,hope you weren’t giving those scabs a

     

    hard time today,live and let live,that’s my motto..

     

    …………….well unless they’re huns.

     

    JUSTDIESCUM

  8. the long wait is over on

    bournesouprecipe on 11 May, 2012 at 19:02 said:

     

    They’re protesting to John Grieg’s statue.

     

     

    share on F’book or Twitter

     

     

     

    ———–

     

     

    BSR

     

     

    According to the revelations in the judicial report they’d have been as well having Greigs statue in the boardroom as the real one , for all the good he did.

     

     

    HH

  9. Heard snippets of the press conference at Lennoxtown and R@ngers.

     

     

    Neil Lennon was asked if Sunday could be his last game in charge of Celtic. Total disgrace, they wonder why Leeny doesn’t want to do PCs.

     

     

    Didn’t hear Mr McCoist being asked… Can anyone confirm.

  10. bournesouprecipe – miss your craic on FB, are you twittering these days?

     

     

    I bought a blindfold today, but I can’t see me wearing it!

     

     

    My old ma & da have had two winners a Cork Races today, they well happy and even happier when I told them the new prefered bidders surname was Green !

     

     

    Brian ‘Hibee’ Kennedy LOL, what an a’hole – and no David ‘arrogant, out of touch posh boy’ Cameron, that does not mean Lots of Love

     

     

    Dedicated Follower of Celtic

  11. BT

     

     

    Has a similar day to the one you had earlier in the week!!

     

     

    Gggrrr :-)

  12. Just saw Kennedy on the news and it sounded to me he was throwing a threat that as he had his bid rejected they better have a better deal in the making, a threat not veiled and blaming the administrators for their liquidation, when are the police going to take an interest in what these guys are saying.

  13. sparkleghirl on

    has this thing about being kicked out of SFA been leaked to show them how serious it is and to prepare them for the appeal being rejected?

  14. leftclicktic on

    So they can change the rules to let cheats play in league

     

    but they cant change them to allow celtic to cut their own tv deal.

     

    Snottery & dumbell are zooooooooomers

  15. Tim Malone Will Tell on

    The Long Wait Is Over

     

     

    I have it on good authority that John Greig’s statue is actually John Greig.

     

    Mind yourself though, he could still break your leg if he fell on you….

  16. Joe Filippis Haircut on

    hamiltontim. You have hit on something fella they could melt down the gates at Ibrokes and sell them for scrap. H.H.

  17. Ray Singh-Carr on

    The Big Hoose must stay open………………….at least until they have dug up all the corpses from underneath the marble patio!!!

     

     

     

    BwahahahahahahahahahaCSC

  18. Snake Plissken on

    Keevins at last tells the truth:

     

     

    No Rangers means a reduced Sky deal NOT no deal

     

     

    Took you months to do so.

  19. dessybhoy on 11 May, 2012 at 19:09 said:

     

    Just saw Kennedy on the news and it sounded to me he was throwing a threat that as he had his bid rejected they better have a better deal in the making, a threat not veiled and blaming the administrators for their liquidation, when are the police going to take an interest in what these guys are saying.

     

     

    THEY do threats real good.

  20. sparkleghirl on 11 May, 2012 at 19:09 said:

     

     

    has this thing about being kicked out of SFA been leaked to show them how serious it is and to prepare them for the appeal being rejected?

     

    ………………………………………………………………………………..

     

    mibbee’s aye, mibbee’s naw!

     

    Hail hail

  21. RobertTressell on 11 May, 2012 at 18:57 said:

     

    Which current SPL club is most likely to become our closest rival now?

     

     

    I think Dundee Utd might be closest challengers next season.

     

    Some good young players, it just depends on how many they can keep a hold of.

  22. Don’t be too hard on Ally. He is simply another member of the cast in this farce who knew nuthin.

  23. leftclicktic on

    Serious question how far back was it the internet bampots

     

    declared liquidation was the only option :))))))))

  24. the long wait is over on

    D and p now apparently saying openly that liquidation a better option than the BK’ offer

  25. Clyde 1 just read out latest Press Release from Duff & Phelps:

     

     

    First, they’re unhappy with Kennedy/Murray statement – saying they had plenty of opportunity to put in a bid that wouldbe high enough to make them preferred.

     

     

    Also, the best bit, they are legally bound to ensure that any bid is materially better for the creditors than Liquidation