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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ernie lynch
08:10 on 8 September, 2014
So why would we need a currency union then?
It doesn’t make sense.
Bankers say we need one. The Banking system doesn’t make sense.
Yep those banking experts selling “products” sure know what they are talking about. Listen to the apocalypse that they are predicting in the event of a YES.
Do remember that we will all still be neighbours, friends and family , North and South of the border, when it is all decided.
Taurangabhoy
09:32 on 8 September, 2014
”Do remember that we will all still be neighbours, friends and family , North and South of the border, when it is all decided.’
###
You do realise it’s going to be a no vote, don’t you?
scotlands shame
08:56 on 8 September, 2014
Financial experts? The guys and gals who talk confidently about market confidence but miss the indicators of financial meltdown?
Listen to them by all means, just don’t necessarily believe them.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
09:32 on 8 September, 2014
I’m not aware that bankers have said we need a currency union.
Salmond’s not a banker. He used to work in a bank, and the nats used to make great play of that fact, how much of an expert he was, how experienced he was, but they’ve kind of shut up about it since the banking collapse.
6 out of ten biggest fallers on ftse today Scottish institutions. So it begins
scotlands shame
09:21 on 8 September, 2014
What questions?
Maybes Aye. I won’t be losing any sleep either way. Worse case scenario is probably more devolved power and dealing with the future one day at a time like it always was. It will be interesting to see how you deal with the choice of the voters , either way Ernie. Me I look forward to a renewed Scotland governing itself but if not I refuse to look back in anger. Life’s too short mate.
BMCUW
My da always had Murdoch and Connolly up there as amongst the best6 he saw in a Celtic jersey. Oh how I’d have loved to have seen them.
Philbhoy
I don’t mind the political stuff, I’ve found parts of it quite educational.
However, it’s gone way past being worthwhile now. Mostly it’s angry men thumping away on their keyboards trying to score points over an opponent.
Those who are thumping, won’t convince their opposite number, and those of us who haven’t decided yet are fed up of the constant sniping and insults.
ernie lynch
09:36 on 8 September, 2014
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e635505a-328f-11e4-a5a2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3CiBS547U
Bank of England official states currency union optimal choice.
robinbhoy
09:20 on 8 September, 2014
Sorry, but what a silly post….keep it sensible if you want credibility etc…..
ernie lynch,
Ernie up all night manning the barricades.Imbuing us all with his hatred of all things SNP.
Telling all lesser mortals that they are illiterate,stupid,not fit to think for themselves.
That the great Ego knows all the answers.I would have serious doubts about listening to a Zealot.Other posters in the NO camp express their doubts,as is their right.I am sure every YES voter can understand this.It IS a massive step.
As we have witnessed in the past week,the massive swing to YES has been caused by people like Ernie.The NO camp now know it.Threats,intimidation,negativity,have had the opposite effect on the voters.
Time to give it a rest.Let the people decide.Nothing more can be said thats not been already.
Good luck to whoever wins.
HT
Too true buddy!!
Daughter not at school today so got a busy day ahead of me which won’t include the blog!
HH
HT
Mind you, I’m assuming she will get out of her bed sometime!
My Generation: http://youtu.be/dbW_AT64m8E
Quite clever illustration of the cultural approach to risk, yes/no etc.
Hail hail
Estadio
Anyhoo nice chatting. Must dash.
Hail Hail.
Philbhoy
I’m not at the chalk face until this afternoon but have a couple of meetings this morning. I’m still waiting for the first one to turn up!
Enjoy your day Sir and take your wallet!!! :-)
Never mind the referendom…..
From Video Celts…
Sevco’s share issue is heading for the rocks with just five days left to save the club.
Last week’s barrage of bad news has seriously hampered prospects of raising the £4m needed to delay administration with even the hardcore fans reluctant to back the current failing regime.
Typical of the response is the Rangers First grouping which was launched in a blaze of publicity earlier this year claiming: “RangersFirst was created as a result of a series of meetings on Community Ownership and Fan Governance organised by Supporters Direct Scotland and held in The Louden Tavern, Copland Road, Glasgow.
“To date, we have over 1000 members contributing to the fund with all funds collected going toward the purchase of shares in Rangers Football Club.”
With the opportunity to salvage the club and retain their shareholding just over one third of their members have stumped up for the new share issue at 20 p per share, in December 2012 members paid 70p per share.
So far 1412 members have pledged “29,985- a paltry £21 per member which would barely pay for a ticket to watch Ally McCoist’s League One champions. Rangers First have set a target of raising £85,000 for the current share issue.
Since the launch of the share issue on August 27 the club has been hammered by bad publicity with most of the blame being pointed in the direction of founding father Charles Green.
News that he had sold the naming rights for the stadium for £1 to Mike Ashley were quickly followed by the announcement that staff at the club’s three retail stores had been TUPE’d over to Sports Direct.
On Friday former commercial director Imran Ahmad had £620,000 ring fenced on account of his claim for unfair dismissal leaving under £600,000 in the club’s bank account.
Shareholders have until Thursday to snap up shares, if less than £3m is raised the issue won’t go ahead with cheques returned to those shareholders who have decided to invest in the scheme.
HT
Cheers!
You too!
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
09:42 on 8 September, 2014
ernie lynch
09:36 on 8 September, 2014
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e635505a-328f-11e4-a5a2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3CiBS547U
Bank of England official states currency union optimal choice.’
######
Optimal choice for iScotland, mate.
Have you read the article?
‘The following ratings – marked out of 10 – are based on what our panel members believe are the best options for Scotland, rather than what is most likely to happen.’
scotlands shame,
If you want to come on here telling us all the horror stories that the NO campaign have been spouting,as if it is news,then be prepared to be shot down.If you want to convince YES voters that voting NO is better for Scotland,then give us a few positives that would come Scotlands way.Their is none,if their had been we would not have had to listen to probably,the most negative diatribe ever in British politics.
By all means suck up all the negative points from the Establishment,but keep them to yourself.
FAVOURITE UNCLE
A wee dayooooot is planned for 11/10 anyway.
I think the most important date is 20/9.
That’s when,regardless of the vote and the proportions involved,we must all accept it and work towards improving Scotland.
HT,
Your Dad was right about the pair of them. They played football the way it should be played. Astonishing ability, both. Charlie Gallagher and Paul McStay are the nearest I have seen to them in a Celtic jersey. As Mr Stein said of Bobby: when he plays, Celtic play. Absolutely spot on.
Morning all just browsing might tune in again when a bit of football breaks out , October isn’t it?
What a start to the week…slept in, so phoned the work to say I’d be late.
The car wouldn’t start, some dummy left the lights on..me!
Phoned a taxi, eventually turns up, he doesn’t have change of a score, so we need to find a shop for change.
Anyways. Hail Hail.
The new edition of CQN Magazine will be out tomorrow.
We have a great goalkeepers feature and of course we have something special on Ronnie Simpson which we hope you will enjoy. As you will know we can add videos to the digital magazine and here’s one on Ronnie returning home to Edinburgh after Lisbon. It will take your minds off politics for 30 seconds!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=r4WdosoyNDk
Fitba and car crash tele .
Found myself watching this ————-
Gibraltar 0————Poland 7..
Gibraltar ran about burning up some calories . Poland were dreadful . So dreadful it took them 10 minutes to score their first . A good team will put 20 past Gibraltar ..
Parkheadcumsalford
09:55 on
8 September, 2014
There are a whole host of men who’ve worn Celtic jerseys over the decades that I wish I’d had an opportunity to see.
Connolly and Murdoch would be up there with Charlie/Patsy Gallagher, Quinn, Jinky and McGrory.
Never mind I’ll console myself with my memories of Lubo and The Maestro :-)
Turkeybhoy not tryin to tell anyone anything, not arrogant enough to think i can or have the right to convince anyone which way to vote. As said Im more of a yes than no but want answers bout interest rates tax prices in shops an the free things we get now that rest of UK doesn’t. Funny that if i waS yes voter i have free speech here yet you tell me because i have genuine concerns I’ve to keep them to myself. An you talk bout shot down? As i said my starting pt closer to yes than no an still not 100% for ref day yet i get abuse. I am worried, Im worried i may vote the wrong way, in worried bout the future, i don’t think its unreasonable to have questions. You seem quite unreasonable tho so don’t really see pt in you addressing me at all.
“Rebel Architecture” on Al Jazeera just now, worth a watch for those interested in the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. It took the Israeli’s long enough to catch onto entering houses through holes in walls rather than doorways to minimise casualty’s. If they had read up on the 1916 Rebellion they might have caught it in use there.
Programme repeated tonight at 22.30
Most skilful Celts I’ve seen are Wee Jinky, Bobby Murdoch when he was dropped into midfield and King Kenny. KOK leading the next group.
Say NO to the Dominion of Scotland
Just an opinion
A recurring reason for wanting independence I hear is being able to elect the Government you want. Basically anything but the Tories?
I can’t understand this mindset as it’s a fact that before this current watered down Conservative ‘Coalition’, we had 12 years of Labour. So what do the Yes voters ultimately want, a one party system for Scotland?
Okay, let’s say on the morning of the 19th we wake up to an independent Scotland with Alex Salmond at the helm. Then seriously do we know what’s next? To me this guy just wants to be king and little else. His intentions are not solely for Scotland but for himself or he would have taken himself completely out of the equation altogether by stating clearly, that voting Yes is not a vote for Alex Salmond but a vote for Scotland. His ego would never allow this as much more important for him is to go down in the history books as the man who brought Independence to Scotland.
This is a massive decision and one that should not be made on bravado or emotion. For me I’d want to be 100% sure. Yes you may not like the current Conservative Government but being so narrow sited and voting for separation, just because you don’t like the current lot at number 10 is a ridiculous reason.
Scotland may very well prosper on it’s own but are we informed enough to know for sure? 12 days ago the polls had the No campaign out in front with a big lead now it’s neck and neck. If such a big percentage of people can change their minds in such a short period of time, then it’s logical to think this may happen again after the vote. However it will be to late by then as this cannot be reversed. Once you vote yes, there is just no going back, do we really want to put ourselves in such a box?
To me we shouldn’t want to limit our options by voting yes. No will bring increased powers and the prospect of try before you buy. Let’s first see what we do with these increased powers and if it does bring a more prosperous Scotland. Then voting Yes at some point in the future would surely make much better sense?
On another issue – We all know the efforts Alex Salmond made to protect Rangers and we are all waiting for the big tax case to move to England, so as to finally get a fair hearing. Magnify this in all aspects of society and this is what your voting for. Think about it!
Just posted my postal ballot paper. I held of voting as I was very undecided, I hoped to get an inkling from the YES and NO campaigners on this site. To tell you the truth neither side convinced me one way or the other, I’ve voted with my conscience, my choice, my pick, and it was always my first choice.
Anyone know what happens to passports if it’s a yes vote.
OK it’s a British Passport I know but Eire for instance is part of the British Isles
but have their own passport.
Will Scotland have its own ?
Wouldn’t that be an admin nightmare ?
Eire isn’t part of the bloody british isles!!
Scotland’s shame. The yes voters are bullying everyone but unable to answer questions. So they need to bully and bluster their way past points if discussion. It’s the equivalent of asking what the impact of independence will be and them shouting frrreeeeeeedsddooommmm in your face.
Their tactic seems to be working mind.
I am equally worried about my children’s future. I’m lucky though I have ways out.
Morning all.
Apologies for the football related post!
My top three Celtic players:
Jinky, Bobby Murdoch and George Connelly. …and yes I did see them play.
Right, back to the politics!
:-)
HH!!
Tim bhoy in Spain I believe the idea is that we would transition to a scottish passport over a few years. But you will have your own scottish passport at some point.
Oldtim67 first instinct tends to be the right one. Good luck to all of us.