We have discussed the Craig Whyte narrative here in some detail since October last year when we first suggested he was preparing to liquidate Rangers and attempt a prepack recovery. I expect this to be put into motion today.
You can ignore any meetings Duff and Phelps hold with prospective buyers of the club, this is window dressing. Craig Whyte and his partner company, Ticketus, are the only people in position to make a viable offer for the business. They hold security on the stadium and Murray Park with Ticketus owning the first 26,000 season tickets (approx.) sold for the next three years. It would cost approximately £40m to release Ticketus security plus whatever is owned to Whyte. No one will offer to cover these costs.
Expect Duff and Phelps to conclude their meetings and report that they are in possession of a genuine offer from Whyte/Ticketus, or their proxy, to buy the assets of the company. The proxy may be required as pretty much everyone who has touched this club in recent years would not be considered a Fit and Proper person and would fail the requirement not to be involved with an insolvency within the last five years.
The offer for all assets will be for a nominal amount and will be conditional on all legal action against Whyte or his companies being dropped. Duff and Phelps will accept the offer.
Whyte cannot afford to allow large scale redundancies as he needs to be able to sell these players in the summer or play those he is unable to sell. With the players not agreeing to a short-term cut in pay, he has to make his move now, despite the enormous risks involved in going early.
Duff and Phelps could have made redundancies 24 days ago and ensured the club would be able to finish the season, or at least survive until the tax verdict, but retaining the football squad was an important part of Whyte’s forward plan – and Whyte’s notional offer will have been known to them from the beginning.
HM Revenue and Customs will take a bath for their £75m, Whyte will emerge with all property assets and the football club, although the club will carry the significant burden of selling tickets for Ticketus.
The SPL board will have to vote within the next week on whether or not to allow Rangers Newco to continue with the same league membership as Rangers FC. Whyte will have to take an enormous chance that his proxy will be presentable enough to allow them to turn a blind eye to the enormously inappropriate behaviour.
The vote could go either way but I expect Celtic will be the only club to object.
The issue is complicated by legacy issues. Neither the SPL nor the SFA have acted on the improper registration of players matter yet. If any of the current Rangers team had their current season contracts registered with the alleged improper procedures, games involving those players will have to be awarded a 3-0 defeat to Rangers.
The SPL will have to come up with a verdict on this matter within days or else revisit the matter in a few weeks, after deciding on what to do with Rangers Newco.
The SPL must also consider the issue of precedent, the consequences of enabling a club to disenfranchise a £75m creditor cannot be underestimated.
HMRC may also have an input here. They stand to lose most from this deal and may seek court intervention, arguing that liquidating the company prior to the FTT verdict is unnecessary and prejudicial to their interests.
Issue six of CQN Magazine, the Fit and Proper edition, is set to become a landmark collectors item. You can browse the magazine online here but you can buy your own hard copy by clicking on the link below. Read with 20-20 vision…..
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TheOriginalSadiesBhoy on 8 March, 2012 at 11:09 said:
‘We’d be crazy to do that without an agreed destination pre-arranged.’
What’s the alternative?
Off oot.
Paul 67’s news like
an aeroplane crashing into
the back of my head just as
I was collecting my, £67 mill
euro-millions ticket :o(((
away for some paracetamol -CSC
May God Bless ‘Every’ Celtic Fan
Hail! Hail!
Have only read Pauls leading article….
CHEATING INBRED SCUM!!
But who am I refering to der huns or duff an duffer.
so if no european football 3 years, what sanctions will be placed on them for next season by the spl
Perusing the SPL handbook and there are so many obstacles to change that they cannot IMHO effectively make rule changes to accommodate this situation. They would effectively have to rip up or more likely suspend the statutes from the SPL and the SFA until Newco was fully ensconced in the SPL. I am not sure if this is a prescient thing to attempt it could open a can of worms.
What about a CQN Newco in the SPL for next season … fancy it Paul67 ? ;-)
Hail Hail
Sorry for long post previously but I thought there were similarities.
I wonder if HMRC are going to be still as defiant “appeal, appeal and appeal again” if they are left with the choice of accepting a CVA and a reduced pence in the pound repayment or actually liquidating the huns.
Let’s hope they have “manned up” since the Leeds debacle.
Right bhoys
Ths lord nimmo smith investigation into 2 contracts.
either the info held at Hampden is all they have to use as evidence.
Or which second party provided them with the new evidence.
HMRC ?
rANGERs who provided the first contract ?
Stinks of a white wash to me but you never know
Jam67
Paul67
Never thought I would be so disheartened with Huns going bust, if what your article suggests, becomes reality. However, I have few points. Today, or any other day, the Huns go bust – the first thing that happens with SPL is no club is relegated – will Dunfermline / Hibs have legal/financial recourse?
If what you say transpires on the vote, as rfcia cease to exist, any newco would not have played any games or won any points, therefore would they start on 0 points or will they be rewarded with the points tally of a previous club, which has ceased to exist. If newco are given the points accumulated by rfcia, I think you will find HMRC will have something to say on that.
Then there is the issue of CW as a fit a proper person, I think we are all quite clear now that there is no chance of him passing/meeting any of the criteria required.
All the above doesn’t even mention the integrity of our game, the merits and arguments on which we’ve all read.
Your article reminds me of the article you wrote in October/Novemebr, when at that time we all thought they were going to try and do the same thing.
I don’t think what you’re saying will be feasible, however nothing surprises me with the Scottish Football authorities or the other clubs.
IF what you’re suggesting looks likely to happen there is 2 things I would like to see, Celtic puts into practice the investigations they’ve been making around our exit strategy AND No Celtic fan ever pays to attend an away match in Scotland ever again, we’ll have enough to win the league anyway.
It will be total travesty of justice if what you suggests becomes reality, there will be the death of Scottish Football. For all their years of CHEATING Celtic will be the ones to suffer most.
Our board now have a very big job to do, we have the right men IMO to do it.
hh
bjmac
Flippin’ ‘eck this is all a bit gloomy now.
I had suspected all along that they would get away with it but the last couple of weeks I had started to believe that good would triumph.
I take heart from the fact that the 3.6m hearing has been delayed – doesn’t that mean someone is fighting and not going along with it? Or is it part of the ploy?
As for the boycott – it would never happen. Even 18 years ago there were thousands of Celtic fans who said they’d never join a boycott – even when it was their own club’s continued existence at stake.
Liquidation and newco IN ANY FORM means no euro football for 3 years doesn’t it?
Lads I’m sure fritz a grandold tweeted yesterday, if a company are liquidated then another has to take it’s place from div 1.
Rules are Rules and they should not be bent for anyone, I can’t believe I’m talking about bending of rules.
TinyTim on 8 March, 2012 at 11:14 said:
None of that is relevant to whether a newco is allowed straight into the SPL.
Though I think it might be offered as a sop to convince the stupider Celtic fans that right is somehow being done.
And you think it would have any bearing on how the huns think? Once they’re back in the SPL? No chance.
At the time that Salmond and Cameron were making sympathetic noises about the huns predicament there was a post on Rangers Media which summed up the wider problem: ”If the Taighs didn’t know they were second class citizens before, they do now”.
Can you imagine how triumphant they will be when they’ve dumped the debt and are back in the SPL?
A prepack hun in the spl next season, with an annual points penalty and no europe for three years is being touted round the media.
If this happens and Celtic haven’t clearly fought this aggressively I will fondly remember our history but my involvement in the game will be reduced to a ‘check the results’ supporter.
My conscience will allow no more!
Trust; I find, gentlemen is the single most influcencing factor in all these shenanigans in scotlands beautiful game at present.
For the orcs just who do they trust, everyone has shafted them one way or the other, themselves included.
And similarly for the celts, trust is an issue because with all this jelly and ice cream I’m getting very little fibre in my diet and recently I trusted a fart, we all know how that ended up.
I’m here all week; unlike the Huns incedently.
@Pearcesport: Rangers case won’t be sorted today. Looks like we’re heading for a hearing on March 29th. Lawyers given half hour to talk amongst themselves
From RM :
A successful meeting of Northern Ireland Bears was held earlier on tonight to discuss the ongoing crisis at Rangers and what Ulster Bears could do to assist in helping Rangers FC through these turbulent and testing times.
Out of many items discussed two points were considered most prudent:
1/ How to raise funds to assist the club in its hour of need
2/ To get on board all the Unionist Parties to show a united front
At the next meeting, it is expected that a senior Ulster politician will be present to discuss how to exert pressure on those responsible persons to ensure that the institution that is Rangers FC is saved.
Details of the next scheduled meeting will be made available in the next few days – in the meantime could ALL Ulster Bears & Bearettes make your RSC’s and Bands etc aware of what’s happening, to allow them to prepare to have representation at the aforesaid meeting.
Your club needs you more than it ever has in its 140 years existence – the spirit of Ulster has always served Rangers well.
WE ARE THE PEOPLE.
Please spread the word – share with your friends.
Edit…
The next meeting for representatives of ALL Northern Ireland Rangers Supporters Clubs is:-
Wednesday 14th March at 7.30pm in The Welders, East Belfast.
Please make your supporters club officials aware of this meeting which is of great importance.
Paul
I demand that you delete your article which has me on the point of slashing my wrists and regurgitating a vast quantity of jelly and ice cream and replace it immediately with BRTH’s more positive article! :-)
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Kano 1000 on 8 March, 2012 at 09:54 and EKBhoy,
Superb posts lads.
Paul,
Yours was good too, but a little too pessimistic for my tastes!
Hail Hail!
jungle jam67 on 8 March, 2012 at 11:20 said:
Don’t think Nimmo is looking at the 2 contracts allegation, only the question of whyte being a fit and proper person. 10 months too late, the 2 contracts will be looked at around December.
Where’s wee davie?
Kayal33 on 8 March, 2012 at 11:25 said:
Don’t think Nimmo is looking at the 2 contracts allegation, only the question of whyte being a fit and proper person. 10 months too late, the 2 contracts will be looked at around December.
=============
DECEMBER!!! You are kidding?
SFA’s Smith says liquidation would be a disaster
Why? Does he realise what a difficult position his organisation will be in? To either accept a newco and showthemsevles to be bereft of morals, or to turn down the newco and consign Rangers to the dustbin of history.
Liquidation isn’t what we want anyway is it? Don’t we want them to limp along hamstrung by debts?
Kayal33
Thanks for that info
If that’s the case WTF are regan and Doncaster doing?
Jam67
Many many months ago, when RTC & Phil first entered my conciousness & the Rangers for Death debate on CQN was in (what I thought then) full flow I did warn of a danger which could arise not in respect of Rangers but the existance of the Celtic FC we knew.
Most of us looked forward to Rangers being ‘guilty’ of many of the allegations resulting in the ‘end of’ or at least severe emasculation. However at the back of our minds was always what the football governing bodies and in particular the other SPL clubs would do.
A newco allowed back in the SPL with minimum penalties was an outrage expressed by all of us (indeed getting into SPL under any conditions was unacceptable to most) and yet the fact we debated it meant we could all imagine it happening.
99% of us were sure Celtic FC would oppose a parachuting newco because if they didn’t the season ticket holders would walk away en masse. That would emasculate Celtic not the bad guys.
On assumption Celtic FC fought it tooth & nail the Celtic support would march with them. However what if every other SPL side voted for newco?
Already today there are debates for/against resigning; debates for/against boycotts; debates for/against playing friendlies etc.
The danger for us now is being a house divided. A horrible scenario is the newco and its hoards not only laughing at their successful cheating (I don’t believe they will be successful BTW) but their joy at our in-fighting.
Fully understand our custodians keeping our powder dry since after all the Rangers position remains uncertain and in any event is not yet our business. However big big days lie ahead. It is crucial our board speak up clearly and strongly when those days arrive. And when they do that they fully meet our expectations. THEY MUST GET THIS RIGHT.
I am very confident they will do the right thing and meet the problem head on with an honour most of us suspect lacking elsewhere in the Scottish football world.
Please everyone be prepared to give unstinting support to the Board when the time comes. They may not do EXACTLY as each individual might wish but I suspect on the big issues there will not even be a cigarette paper between the supporters & custodians.
Let us ensure the periphery issues remain just that.
I apologise if this comes across as preaching or heavan forbid scaremongering but I just had to get my feelings out there.
We’ll never walk alone.
Maybe they will go bust on Good Friday and come back on Easter Sunday.
Thank goodness: we’re back …
With HMRC bringing in “retrospective” law changes for Barclays last week, due to Tax Avoidance, could they do the same here? The money it stake is nowhere near the same, but the precedent is then set for other clubs. Otherwise, football clubs could apply this continually and just live on the never, never.
Also, someone will still need to pay for the Big Tax Case…
we are back…………………………
ok who broke the blog…………………….
it wiza meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
BigJoetheBLOGbracker
Paul – I have taken my time to digest your article rather than leap in with the expletives that would have filled an immediate, knee-jerk post. Minus those expletives the reaction is the same. If this is allowed to happen, football in Scotland is surely finished. Who in the world could take it seriously?
We have all thought/known for years that the game in Scotland is corrupt and filled with an unhealthy quota of cheats. That is bad enough but this is “off the radar” stuff.
You know my thoughts on the calibre of administrators at the SFA and SPL. They don’t even talk a good game. I suspect that Duff & Phelps may be better administrators. This however would not only be incompetence, it would be an action devoid of morality and integrity on a scale that I don’t recall within the game on these islands.
The indignation the footballing world shows for a player who dives to win a free-kick or penalty. The imaginary card-waving by some that sends the fans and those that claim to be journalists into rage. These are seen as heinous crimes the footballing world over and rightly so. They are a blight on the game. The obscene footballers’ salaries that you and I and all the fans contribute to the world over are another blight. All these problems – and they are real problems – leave a nasty taste in the mouth but
a prepack rangers in the SPL would make these problems seem trivial.
There has been much comment and humour on these pages about Golf Club memberships rising if they go bust. If this prepack comes to pass then I for one think I would be dusting down the clubs that have remained untouched for years.
The way I feel about this, it would signal the end for me. Not the end of my love for Celtic. Not the end of my love for everything that our Club represents. Not the end of my efforts to uphold the values of our Club that we all hold so dear. It would be the end however, of my attending football matches, unless I won the lotto and got a Barca season ticket. I have said for years, to the ridicule of many even within our own CSC, that I wish Celtic played in any other league in the world. I have said that I would be happy for our Club to be the “Harlem Globe Trotters” of football and play glamour friendlies against the world’s top clubs top raise funds for Charity. I know the latter isn’t viable of course and I understand that the former option does not appear to exist but this….? Where is the enjoyment in this? I just don’t think I have it in me to financially support a football league that would do such a thing.
The “game”, despite being up in my mind, would go on without me. Few would even notice that I had gone. It would hurt me and hurt me badly. The good feeling of knowing that my money wasn’t contributing to whoever was in charge of Scottish Football would not come close to outweighing this hurt but it would be a stand that on a personal level I feel I would have to take. Not one I look forward to but one that I feel is inevitable should all of this come to pass.
If your article, and the one you wrote months ago in a similar vein, is true – and I have no reason to doubt it – and this is the plan, then the board of the SPL has the very future of the game in their collective hands. The governing bodies in Scotland have made many a mistake in the past. Some of those mistakes may even fall in the “honest” category. This would be beyond the pale. They have an opportunity to rid the game of a boil that is primed to be lanced. They have a chance to put the game on an even keel that has not existed in my memory. They cannot surely drop this ball.
We’ve said for years the words alluded to by our former Chairman some 18 months or so ago. Words that I paraphrase here. “All we want is a level playing field. All we want are the rules to be applied fairly.”
We’ve all seen the word “respect” on football jerseys in recent times. In the case of rangers it would appear, as well as it being non-existent on the park, that it doesn’t extend to the Taxman, or many other creditors for that matter. I pray that more than Celtic see sense here.
For once, do the right thing Scottish Football. “Show rangers the red card!”
heavan = heaven
lol
I too would like to know how a Ran*ers 2012 would fit into the SPL. It isn’t conceivable that they could be awarded the points tally accumulated by the Old Ran*ers. The only way would be to suspend all relegation and promotion into and from the SPL and allow the 2012 Orcs to battle for bottom spot with Dunf’ne and Hibs. Now given this is a possible scenario wouldn’t the top team from the SFA 1st division raise a legal challenge? Has the SFA agreed to this in principal already! I do not see how UEFA can allow this to happen it would call the whole integrity of Scottish football into question and render the SFA/ SPL competitions meaningless.
I for one didn’t envisage any other likely outcome other than a Ran*gers 2012 being readmitted to the SPL at some juncture. However if this is a NEW club with no history and many seasons of sanctions / points deductions to hinder them I could just about live with that.
about 3 or 4 years ago, a poster ( i think it was barcaboy ) stated that r…..s would eventually have a player budget similair to Aberdeen’s, i would like to see that post again,
Any chance Celtic could apply for Portsmouth’s place in the English League system, if that is available?
sparklegirl
” As for the boycott – it would never happen”
The more Celtic fans say that, then the more you are likely to be accurate. The opposite is also true.
JJ ( Who would be finished with all football in Scotland if Rangers are , again, outrageously favoured).
sorry if repeating something, I’ve not had the time to read back.
if they’re liquidated would they not be automatically relegated ?
Gonnae be a nervy day!!
Anybody whose erse is twitchin’….
http://rangerstaxcase.com/2012/03/08/rangers-deathwatch-qa/#respond
Steady as she goes Bhoys.
HH
sparkleghirl on 8 March, 2012 at 11:27 said:
SFA’s Smith says liquidation would be a disaster
sorry, getting S Regan mixed up with Nimmo Smith. Hope that’s not an omen
What will happen if a NewCo Rangers get through this and back into SPL
Income – £57m in 2011 broken down as follows:
European Income – £19.3m
Gate Receipts – £25m (ave £1.1m per home game)
SPL commercial – £3.7m
Sponsorship and Advertising – £3m
Other – £6 m
Expenses – £47.5m
So what for 2012/13
No European Income – £0
Gate Receipts – £25m minus ticketus payments of £10m = £15m minus £3.3m for Euro home games = £11.7m
SPL commercial – £3.7m
Sponsorship and Advertising – £3m
Other – £6m
Total – £24.4m turnover.
Expenses will need to be almost halved in order for them to break even. This means a serious reduction in wages as that takes up most of expenses (circa £28m per year).
Ok they may be able to make some money from selling players but these will have to be replaced and who in their right mind is going to offer them credit for players. They will want to be paid up front.
HMRC may take a hit but its doubtful they will take it lying down. Just today they went to court to get access to the remaining Ticketus money of £3.6m.
Even if they do, they will still require advance payments of Tax before allowing newco a trading certificate which is vital to the company being allowed to trade.
If, and it’s a big if everything goes well for Rangers and they emerge as unscathed as possible, drastic cuts are still required to keep the business going long term.
Mort
BTRH, as, as usual, given a comprehensive breakdown of the Orc’s problems. James Forrest has his caveats in place. There are arguments on both sides. My take on it is fairly simple. It is to look at what is in place.
1.–Do you trust the SFA? These are the people who ran the game. Regan was told in no uncertain terms (by Celtic) what was going on on his watch.
2. Do you trust the SPL? Doncaster sounds as if he doesn’t know what day it is, much less the complexities of what is before him.
3.–Do you think EUFA will have a say? To my mind they have no choice. Their decision here impacts on clubs right across Europe, so they have to get it right.
4.–Do you trust ANY person in the Scottish media to report this as it is? There is no chance. (See the brilliant decision of STV to hook up with Rangers. Tho hookers for the price of one). They are bigger liars than Cut the Bags, and he was thrown out of Hell for telling lies.
Those are the main points. Celtic, and EUFA, have made no move. They don’t need to.
If Celtic are on their game, and nothing dissuades me that they aren’t, then War Games will have been enacted. All countries do this. What do we do when we are under threat by another entity? We will have prepared for the eventuality, or we face even more threats in the future.
I have every confidence Celtic will have prepared for this.
Ther’s a long way to go yet.