I’ve been trying to think if there are circumstances where a company has appointed an administrator when they have been paying all debts when due. Newco Rangers are, to the best of our knowledge, paying creditors when due and have enough cash to continue to do so until the anticipated arrival of cash receipts from new season ticket sales. They are, therefore, also able to fulfil obligations to current season ticket holders to stage football games.
It may be advantageous to the club to call in the administrators, because we all know how this story ends, but before you ask an administrator to ‘do his thing’, you need to give him a job to do. Right now a Newco Rangers administrator would be able to pay all creditors when due – and would have money left over.
Under these circumstances, an admin would have difficulty breaking the contracts necessary to reduce costs for next season. Before a court would agree to appoint an administrator appropriate justification would need to be found, and I don’t see it, yet. There may be as-yet unpublicised justification, but I suspect it would require a thoroughly creative, creative accountant, to produce it.
Season ticket sales for next season imposes an obligation to stage games all the way through to May 2015. If the club have little or no chance of meeting obligations between now and then, the directors must recognise this fact when it formally becomes apparent, stop accepting season ticket money, and appoint an administrator to protect creditors’ interests, before they start to consume this cash to pay for day-to-day expenses.
This is the point administration would normally be considered.
There has also been a great deal of hot air about trading insolently and illegally. Companies are allowed to trade while insolvent if they have a reasonable belief that they will be able to generate enough cash to pay creditors when due. Right now, for Newco, this means they can continue to trade while season tickets are on sale. Doing so beyond the renewal deadline, even in the face of terrible sales, is legally justifiable.
The same goes for claims of foul play over Graham Wallace’ pronouncements in December that his club had enough money to get to the end of the season. It was simply wrong that Newco had enough money to get to the end of the season, but projections – any projections – are so caveat-dependent there is no way the police will do anything more than take a cursory look at the issue. Whoever reported Wallace either doesn’t know the mechanics of projections or is simply trying to pee in the Bovril. If you’re visiting Ibrox soon, avoid the Bovril.
Flying a kite, in the form of a proposed share issue in the autumn, will legally allow the directors to gobble up season ticket money between now and then. If/when investigated following an insolvency event, directors can point to the £22m share issue in 2012 as an example of what they planned to do once the season ticket cash was gone. In short, they can trade throughout the summer, until whatever money they bring in is spent, without fear of personal rebuke or liability.
I was reminded in an article in The Herald this morning of the critical move, made back in 2012, which brought the club to its knees today. “The Rangers Supporters Trust urges fans not to renew season tickets”.
This stance was adopted in an attempt to force Charles Green to sell out to the Blue Knights group. Green was forced to ditch his sustainable business plan, promise to spend big, reward his manager with a contract worth circa four times as much as the one on offer and slash season ticket prices. The original plan was to pay players no more than £50k p.a., retain the manager on £200k p.a. and ask fans to back the future by buying tickets at full price.
Notwithstanding the limitations of the manager, Newco should have reached the Premiership with money in the bank from the IPO, while the original investors in the club, including Green, could have taken the long view, and avoided the unseemly haste to get their cash out.
They would have been a significant force to be reckoned with, Celtic’s guaranteed ticket to the Champions League qualifiers would have been competed for, for at least a season. If you see Paul Murray, any other Blue Knights, or their performing puppets, thank them for all their work.
Big Picture: Find the lady
Keep an eye on the property assets. The Rangers FC Ltd’s major creditor is also their only shareholder, Rangers International PLC. After an insolvency event RIFC would be entitled to acquire property assets to compensate for their satisfied debt. Once this happens they can jettison TRFC Ltd to its fate. They can sit as landlords for as long as TRFC can pay rent, or use their assets for a mixture of landfill (Ibrox) and housing (Murray Park).
Big Picture: Fundamentals
While considering all these fast-moving events, don’t lose sight of the overarching fundamentals. It costs circa £17m to operate Ibrox and Murray Park as football venues, before you employ a footballer or coach. No one has suggested how any club in Scotland, with this level of infrastructure to support, is viable without regular Champions League income.
There is a working assumption in some places that a Rangers brand can phoenix indefinitely. This is clearly not the case, a newco takes tens of millions of pounds and tens of thousands of people. One of which will almost certainly not be available next time around, the other of which is in some doubt. My money is on Sandy Easdale’s hunch, that this toxic bird will rise from the ashes only once.
Congratulations to Kris Commons on his enormously deserved Player of the Year award. He and the magnificent Lisa Hague are a credit to the club, and to the values demonstrate so often. As a player, Kris has been peerless; so valuable, so in tune with his surroundings, he could have been born wearing green and white hoops.
We have a few tickets available for the Supporters’ Association 70th Anniversary Dinner Dance this Friday at Celtic Park. It’s always a great event, let me know if you would like to be there, celticquicknews@gmail.com
Signed copies of Yogo Bare available below:
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Actual footage from the CCTV at Celtic Park when thems arrive for the U17 match
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=picture+of+a+zombie+attacking+camera&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=9E129B002FE1E420001EEC7C13F95165FC9F7F17&selectedIndex=4
Question – do age grades become meaningless when you’re eternally undead/dead?
Discuss!
HH jamesgang
Would some be as forgiving if LG had sung the famine song?
Not that I care. Free speech and all that.
Paradise sold out tonight ?
Is this serious.. How many tickets were made available ? Surely not 60k.
Makes it even harder to convince people we dont miss them.
Hopefully no trouble and no media onslought on celtic to take heat off the huns.
anybody who knows a marketing Intern looking for a summer stint let me know it is Glasgow west. food
Mags,
Yup.
I didnt give two hoots when thems sung it.
jamesgang
As someone who has made many mistakes in their life I don;t think a sacking in this instance helps anyone. The player is the one who suffers most. He is almost a kid. OK he has had a better start in his career than most of us and earns huge sums of money BUT he is clearly not the sharpest in the brains department and has been hung out to dry by the Hibernian fans videoing his antics and putting them on the net.
I don’t believe he done a lot wrong.
Should he have been on a table singing? Would you or I get away with that in a pub?
It all appears to be a set up for me. He has been set up by the fans who used to love him. I assume it will be a long time before he attends a Hibernian match with his mates.
LB
whitedoghunch
14:24 on 28 April, 2014
I know of a guy in Govan who might be available,
When you say food, does that include pies?
Paul67
What a statement that is…….
“Season ticket sales for next season imposes an obligation to stage games all the way through to May 2015. If the club have little or no chance of meeting obligations between now and then, the directors must recognise this fact when it formally becomes apparent, STOP ACCEPTING SEASON TICKET MONEY, and appoint an administrator to protect creditors’ interests, BEFORE they start to consume this cash to pay for day-to-day expenses.”
Get out of that one, Sevco ……. !!!!!!!!
Margaret McGill
We only know that LG sung Hearts were going bust. Can you prove he sung anything else? My information is that he didn’t and this is from an eye witness.
Would you sack Leigh Griffiths?
LB
geordie munro
14:25 on 28 April, 2014
Me neither
Free speech means you defend the worst of the worst to say what they want but we must have it
livibhoy – god bless wee oscar
14:29 on 28 April, 2014
No
james gang
I come up against a similar conundrum when I discussed with my boys the putative screenplay I am thinking of writing.
Using the major populist Hollywood themes of our times as a pastiche, I was imagining a storyboard wherein Zombies had invented time travel, as a necessity, after eating all the non-Zombie flesh in their own time.
The conundrum was that, if they go back in time to, say the 18th century, to eat Fresh Meat there, could they conceivably do so, given that they must be eating the ancestors of bodies they had already eaten?
It’s a tricky one right enough.
Ernie-VG
Margaret McGill
Listening to the gaffer Griffiths is going nowhere. The club have closed ranks. If and when Griffiths is found innocent I would hope the fans embrace the fella and let him get on with his career.
LB
The ole Green Brigade are the Bhoys and Ghirls aren’t they??
We all need to reminded of the need to behave ourselves when coming to see the Celtic and in our daily lives.
However no banners lecturing the support and personnel of the football club regarding expected standards of behaviour – which they coincidentally produce when one of our own is facing the glare of a hostile media – should be regarded as bearing any similarity or reference to any unnamed current Celtic player.
Astounding the numbers on here who seemingly choose to ignore this blatant hypocrisy.
Away and gies peace.
Female teacher murdered at a Leeds school,15 year old lifted.
it is only part of the ground that is open tonight
SFTB is George Romero.
Mags,
By allowing them free speech it let’s anyone with ears hear how ignorant they are.
Bit like on here at times :)
Twa keepers on the bench?
Nay, but here’s twa onions in the bag
does anyone have a link to the video of LG allegedly singing in pub
JON
“SFTB is George Romero.”
Has that oul bassa nicked one of my ideas?
DBBIA
I fear that Monsanto may have had a hand in those.
northbhoy
Oh no, not the old hunch/hump debate again.
;o)
Let’s just say that Sandy had a hunch and Graham took the hump.
Excellent article once again, Paul. Wasn’t aware of that “original plan” you outlined, but delighted to hear that it was Paul Murray who spoilt it!
Reading between the lines, I’m guessing Ally agreed to back Green in return for a playing budget of an SPL club? Wanted a squad that could compete for the cups. Unfortunately a manager on 4x the salary doesn’t become four times better!
As far as I’m aware only south stand open tonight with a large area in the middle shut off so the zombies can’t get at the humans :-))
The thought of them in any shape or form in our stadium makes me feel sick.
I’ll defend the right for the gb to say whatever they want
I’ll defend LG to sing whatever he wants
I’ll defend the right for the Huns to sing the famine song
Else
You will end up with anti sectarian legislation to hit you over the head with for singing IRA songs
Followed by book burning
livibhoy – god bless wee oscar
Brilliant analysis of the Lee Griffiths situation.
There should be a moratorium now until after the police investigation where IMHO there will be no case to answer.
Neil Lennon has said his piece, no doubt also Peter Lawwell. I think Griffiths will be a great player going forward in the Hoops.
Luiz Suarez did much worse but has been forgiven and now look at him, he’s world class. Not saying LG will become world class but will be immense over the next few seasons.
RobinBhoy
Lb.
I think I must have seen a doctored video of lg dancing, might have been the only one dancing when the song was being sung.
No offence to your source but is it the same one who told you that Lenny and kris commons had a training ground punch up, only for kc to ridicule the reports the next day?
The video clearly shows he wasn’t behaving as many expect of a celtic man. I don’t think he should be sacked, don’t even think he should be fined but he should acknowledge that what happened wasn’t right. After that, everybody will move on.
HH.
robinbhoy
14:42 on 28 April, 2014
Fully agree
LiviBhoy – God bless wee Oscar
14:29 on
We only know that LG sung Hearts were going bust. Can you prove he sung anything else? My information is that he didn’t and this is from an eye witness.
I refuse to answer that lol
Bourne/Bada
Hosting this game is a nightmare in several ways.
The Honest Mistake loves being first
The guy who told me about LG is a Hibee who went to the pub then the game.
I was told by a good mate about KC and NL. They had a falling out. Whether it was a punch up or not is not the story here. I have no problem with training ground arguments or fights. Shows that people care.
It usually does the situation little harm.
LB
celticforever @ 14:36
Griffiths bringing shame onto Celtic:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/exclusive-celtic-star-leigh-griffiths-3380576
I see the apologists for his behaviour in the same group as the Celtic fans who sang this song in my local Celtic bar yesterday.
BSR loved the irony of the ad below SDM in your link…..http://abload.de/img/screenshot2014-04-28a21pl1.png
http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27190295
Kris Commons goals montage – BBC pay tribute today to the POTY
“There should be a moratorium now until after the police investigation ”
Robinbhoy.
Great idea.
Can this idea not also be implemented in the indy debate? :-)