o Newco Rangers have £1.2m in the bank and the courts have just arrested £620k, leaving circa £600k available. In early September. Football clubs have their cash high water mark in June, after season ticket money arrives, with the low-point coming the month before, so is liquidation just around the corner? Not necessarily.
The club has a couple of significant problems: it’s short of money and has significant monthly outgoings, but it also has assets, and may have buyers for those assets.
Murray Park is an outrageous folly and should be sold immediately. Protests to secure it have been acts of self-harm; swallow your pride and sell. This is a football club in acute danger, pretentions of grandeur, and Murray Park is exactly that, should be shed immediately. Albion car park and the Edmiston House office building are superfluous property assets and could be sold without stopping football operations.
Mike Ashley has an asset Newco want back – stadium naming rights. He could repatriate these rights as a sweetener in a deal to buy Murray Park, Albion and Edmiston. Newco could leaseback the training ground, Sports Direct would be able to build a stonking big tracksuit shop on the Albion site and the club could boast to fans that they negotiated back Ibrox naming rights.
This might sound like a bitter pill but it will keep the lights on a little longer, makes irrefutable sense and is relatively painless. The original Rangers existed for over a century without Murray Park, one of Scotland’s best run topflight football clubs’ Motherwell, train on a school sports field, Newco Rangers could do the same. A little humility right now would be good for them.
There remains a problem: cumulatively, these assets are unlikely to be worth more than the £4m the club hope to raise in their proposed (not underwritten) share issue. This is still not enough to see them through the season. Expenditure for the last season accounts are available, 2012-13, averaged close to £3m per month. The club will need close to £20m between now and season ticket renewal time.
Creditors must be paid or the club will go into administration. To pay creditors, without sufficient income or credit, more assets must be sold, specifically Ibrox.
If they go into administration before selling Ibrox, don’t expect events to follow a similar path to the one Duff & Phelps took when administering Oldco Rangers. Duff & Phelps were appointed by a liquidation specialist with a specific remit. They even tried to sign a player. Newco in administration would follow a more conventional route: redundancies would take place and assets would be sold to pay creditors.
Ibrox is the only significant asset administrators would have to sell. It could generate enough to pay creditors in full and get the club through to the end of the season. Finding a buyer would be the main challenge, but as we all now know, the club can stand or fall, but whoever controls Ibrox can continue to get a rental return from successor club.
An administrator could dismiss the manager and some other highly paid staff, reducing costs to a more manageable level, and pay ordinary creditors in full.
Newco Rangers need to finish in the top four to be in with a chance of promotion, which would be a challenge, but not an insurmountable one with the right manager in place. They could be a top flight club next season.
This is not how fans wanted the Newco to progress but after they were unable to raise more than the £5.5m Charles Green’s consortium put on the table to buy Rangers assets, the future was mapped out.
Costs for police, insurance, electricity, IT, office staff, security and the million other items needed by a football club who occasionally host 50,000 people will be no less than circa £17m p.a – before you employ a footballer.
Newco’s income could rise from the £19m they earned in season 2012-13 (though possibly not this season), but there’s just not enough money to run a football team. Scottish Premiership football would be a chastening experience, the levels of austerity required going forward would be draconian.
Fans can protest that they are watching the same old club all they like, but it’s not going to look anything like the Rangers you or I have ever known – and I knew them under John Greig. And here’s the nub, the most optimistic financial projections are based on Newco selling the same number of tickets Oldco sold. Would a Newco competing alongside St Mirren and Kilmarnock sell any more than the 23,000 season tickets they’ve sold this year?
The long-term financial fundamentals remain unchanged. In 2012 the Blue Knights concluded there was no viable future for football at Ibrox if Rangers were liquidated. Two years later all the evidence reaffirms that position. This is a dead multi-club franchise.
Looking forward to the Maestro Match tomorrow. See you there.
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MWD,
I’m still no 100% aye yet, for me there’s still the anti catholic card being played, which is not a concern for the atheists among us but I feel it is a very nasty side of Scotland that cannot be predicted.
However I’m beginning to believe it would still be better than being red by the bulling on club as our vote will become more important.
Ernie takes a lot of stick but he dishes out as much as he gets, it is the arrogance of the no voters that is driving me to a yes decision.
I don’t trust the mats but I trust London even less.
Weefra
So we just set up a new currency …simple as that ….
You really think that ??
PFayr
Not me? So am I not part of the so called bullying of poor Ernie?
MWD says AYE
ernie lynch
21:57 on 7 September, 2014
————————————–
Just an idea Ernie, nothing more, nothing less.
The very fact that a 90 year old bloodsucker “owns” all that land, and uses it simply for her own leisure, is obscene in my humble opinion – particularly when ordinary people are struggling to put food on their plates.
HH.
Nats even
bigshuggy
Nobody knows anything about football tonight mate
Love
TBB
Perhaps attempted then
ernie lynch
22:02 on
7 September, 2014
Well Ernie you might know you can cycle in the playground or swim unaided in the shallow end, but first time on the road or in the deep end you want a bit of confidence.
I don’t think most people are ready to dive straight in at the deep end. One step at time, one step at a time.
pfayr
Unless you want to contradict the Institute for Finance Scotland. Yes. KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Scotland disappointed to be beat in Germany
WGS done Scotland proud.
Do you think he will be our first President after the independence vote? :-)
HH
CRC
MWD
You and Ernie have been having a protracted discourse for some time …..you could be described as bullying each other
Jeezo….bullying?
Ernie & neganumpty ( ooh is that too nasty? )
Take CRC’s advice.
YES
Weefrathetim. I live in paisley and I can assure you that the bullying, smear tactics of the Nats will leave a terrible legacy.
You know all those people threatening to attack no voters at dinner parties etc if they complained again? You remember that tactic? Do you think it goes one way?
When Scotland has to borrow money at exorbitant rates, or jobs are flocking down south. Do you think 50% of the population will smile sweetly at those who brought it on all of us for an emotionally brave heart type feeling?
And of course you attack me as you have all attacked ernie.
Dissenters will be expunged in the new Scotland eh?
Weefra
Why are they not doing it then ??
It might convince some No voters …could be a real vote winner
Just logged in………………………………………….just loggin’ off!
Political Quick News ?
Not for me.
weeminger
22:07 on 7 September, 2014
So the nats ARE saying we’re not capable of running Scotland on our own?
That’s what I thought they were saying but I wasn’t sure.
I find that personally insulting, but then I’m a sensitive soul.
Delanys yeah dead funny. You must be a legend in your own living room!
PFayr
So therefor you will second the fact that Ernie is a Bully?
MWD says AYE
Pfayr,
Apologies mate, it wasn’t meant that way. HH
Ernie is paid to write this pish so save your tears
I can’t remember ever being so bored by Celtic Quick News!
Look at the names on each page of the last two annuals.
How many of those guys still post?
No bloody wonder.
Paul67
I know that you are loathe to intervene too much in terms of what gets discussed on your blog but could I make the suggestion that the referendum is placed out of bounds after next Thursday.
The level of debate is slowly but surely slipping in to personal abuse and as time draws nearer to the vote passions will inevitably rise
There are plenty of other forums for those who wish to debate this issue -so let people take it off here!
Come the 19th -no matter what way the vote will have gone -we will still be CFC supporters!
HH
NegAnon2
Re your quote “I see that the cyber Nats”,I expected better from you than to bring this term up, the only person who has had to resign for what they posted on twitter is Kathy Wiles, Labour’s candidate for Angus in the 2015 general election, who put the image of Hitler Youth on Twitter after a photograph was circulated of youngsters standing on the steps of the BBC
Gordybhoy well if we disagree with you we are all smart arses it seems. Wonder why?
Q: When is our close season next year ?
Just a comment about next season’s Champions League Qualifiers, again so crucial for us particularly as we lost out financially – and football wise – this season.
We would hope to be in the Scottish Cup Final on May 30th. last game of the season.
2 weeks later, Scotland are away to Ireland in our last Euro 2016 match of this season – on June 13th, 2 weeks after the Cup Final. We could have Mulgrew, Broonie, Forrest, McGregor involved. Others could be involved in their own internationals also.
With CL qualifiers due around 17th July – just over 4 weeks later, we’re back to the “when is the close season?” scenario.
This makes the January transfer window even more important for building our squad, as not much time for much to happen to the squad in July.
I hope Ronny and John have this on their horizon even at this stage.
Gordybhoy64
Young man is in our thoughts.
KTF
MWD
Only during the conversation with you ….with the qualification that you are bullying him
But only insofar as it relates to said conversation
Neg
You are a legend in your very low IQ brain.
The Battered Bunnet
22:04 on 7 September, 2014
“The bullying of Ernie Lynch…”
As a concept, that’s up there with “the exit from liquidation”
====================
Perhaps the MSM will pick up on this :-)
HH
CRC
croppybhoy
There is no way this debate will stop after the 19th………………..I can see it getting worse from then on, irrespective of how the vote goes.
Sipsini
No worries
HH
Yogly posters on this site starting cycling a smear campaign about Jim murphy and his so called antics at the Clutha. It was and is disgusting. In their defence they posted a link to a thousand flowers. A well know cyber Nat site. Others have posted from wings over Scotland. A very sinister site.
Any dissent from no voters is to be crushed.
Of course I have seen this sort of thing with the OB act which was interned to criminalise and victimise those whom Scotland don’t like. So the tactic is well used and I’m afraid in an independent Scotland will be common place.
Why this site is proving that very point.
ernie lynch
22:10 on
7 September, 2014
Ha! Maybe, I’m sure you’ve figured out my primary reason for voting Yes by now. Westminster is wholly undemocratic and it won’t change with out a big shock at the very least.
Maybe big Billy and wee Bertie (and all the Huns he neglects to mention) will start a save Ernie campaign .
Everybody cares what they think.
Embramike, that is a real concern, would any of our other players not also be involved ?
Have to say, I do think we need to be looking at our season, with a winter shutdown to give players a mid-term break
Hail Hail
Delanys very constructive of you. Of course I need to be dumb in your eyes. Less than human? Makes it easier to dismiss what those who disagree with you say.
I wonder who has used those tactics before?
cowiebhoy
22:02 on 7 September, 2014
I reckon that is the best seat in our stadium, hat doffed to my wee mate the ex castlemilk kid.
11 days sober but this place would make you drink!
Good night.