Guest Bilo Posted 1 April 2011 Posted 1 April 2011 Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston has admitted that the club could go bust.The admission came in the wake of recent talks with would-be owner Craig Whyte and half-yearly figures indicating that the club owes £29m. Johnston insists that, when published in June, annual figures will show that debts have dropped to around £22m. But,asked if it was possible for the club to go out of business if a decision over tax payments went heavily against them, he nodded in agreement. "The reality is that, if the decision is bad and the club can't pay, there would be a decision to be made," said Johnston, who expects a decision on the purchase of the club in the next couple of days. "It's not clear where the liability lies. It could be October or November before we find out. "The situation is not holding up the sale, but it does inhibit new financing and new investment. "I have no idea of the sum for which we may be liable, but Rangers cannot afford much." Figures for the six months to 31 December show that the amount Rangers owe to creditors due within the next year has increased by nearly £3.5m to £29m, most of that is believed to be owed to Lloyds Banking Group. The club suffered a drop in pre-tax profit from £13m to £9m, turnover decreased by £4.1m to £33.7m and there was also a 4.9% decline in the number of season tickets sold, together with a reduction in sponsorship income. However, Johnston insists that annual figures will show that finances are now in a much healthier state. "Today's figures are a snapshot," he said. "They are not bad figures. "Progress is good. Around £22m is a more realistic debt figure." The real concern for Rangers is the judement they await from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs over a tax issue relating to offshore payments to players and the Murray Group Management Limited Remuneration Trust. Johnston admitted that "but for the HMRC verdict, life would be a lot easier" and he acknowledged in his statement to the Stock Exchange the investigation relating to offshore payments to players and the Murray Group Management Limited Remuneration Trust. "I would emphasise that no allegations have been made to suggest any illegal activity and tax vehicles of this type have been used by a number of companies throughout the country," he said. "We continue to vigorously contest HMRC's challenge on the taxation treatment of the trust and, in doing so, continue to receive reassuring opinion from tax, accounting and legal specialists." The club's financial position has also been hit by a separate charge from the HMRC for £2.8m for activities in a player compensation scheme between 1999 and 2003. All this is happening as Rangers are deep in talks with Whyte, who is hoping to take over ownership from Sir David Murray. "This is a two-way street," said Johnston. "He is still enthusiastically addressing the issue and we are looking at his credentials. "I want a forcing mechanism to force him to do what he says he is going to do in terms of future investment in the club. "His agreement with the bank and with David Murray has nothing to do with Rangers. I want assurances of his ability to fund what he says he is going to do. "Craig has to understand the club's position and the expectation level of the fans. "It is very easy to talk about £25m investment, but there must be a forcing mechanism. "We must get it into any purchase agreement. I admit this is very unusual." Johnston also revealed that he asked manager Walter Smith and chief executive Martin Bain to give Whyte a briefing about the cash flow of the club in terms of the future requirement of players and that was done last week. Rangers' chairman had criticised the club's banker in his statement to the Stock Exchange for making Smith's job more difficult than necessary. "While we appreciate the support of the Lloyds Banking Group through the Bank of Scotland in extending our credit arrangement and recognising the progress that has been made in developing a template for collaboration, certain provisions imposed on the club continue to compromise, in our opinion, management's ability to conduct its role with maximum efficiency," Johnston said in his statement. Indeed, despite Smith being restricted in his movements in the transfer market, player costs have remained around the same thanks to the addition of Nikica Jelavic, Vladimir Weiss and James Beattie. The latest figures also show that Rangers' gained more from the sale of Danny Wilson to Liverpool and Kevin Thomson to Middlesbrough than they did the previous year for Barry Ferguson to Birmingham City and Charlie Adam to Blackpool. "Net operating expenses at £21.1m are in line with last year, with base salary costs at similar levels and reduced matchday costs offset by higher maintenance expenditure and provisions for doubtful debts," explained Johnston.
MC Prussian Posted 1 April 2011 Posted 1 April 2011 Scotsmen used to be good at financing/saving money. Ridiculous.
lcfc"weasel" Posted 1 April 2011 Posted 1 April 2011 Won't happen. Unfortunately, you're probably right.
FoxyPV Posted 1 April 2011 Posted 1 April 2011 There are just some things that will lift your mood regards of how bad you feel - this is definitely one of them.
BlueSi13 Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Nice, would be excellent to see the Septic follow them
lcfc"weasel" Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Nice, would be excellent to see the Septic follow them And ruin a whole countries football?
Simmo86 Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 And ruin a whole countries football? Would be ruined if Rangers went under
lcfc"weasel" Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Would be ruined if Rangers went under Think it'd just about survive with Celtic alone, and even if they did go under they'd form a new club and be back in the SPL in a few years, I believe for those few years it could survive with just Celtic, however remove them both for a few years I think it'd definitely end.
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Don't know how Scottish football would survive without their biggest club.
FoxyPV Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Don't know how Scottish football would survive without their second biggest club.
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Hamilton Accies? I don't think they're bigger man. My point stands, partial to a bit of Rangers now and then.
Lovejoy Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Don't know how Scottish football would survive without their biggest club. Are Celtic going bust too?
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Are Celtic going bust too? ........Was the point. Hate Celtic.
lcfc"weasel" Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 ........Was the point. Hate Celtic. Without being argumentative can I ask why? Just genuinely intrigued.
Narborough_fox Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 I don't get how people can say Celtic are a bigger club then Rangers. Yes I am a Rangers fan but Rangers have won 53 titles to Celtic's 42, Both have won the Scottish Cup 34 times and Rangers have won 13 more League cup's than Celtic. Celtic may have a bigger fanbase but in terms of history and title's Rangers have won more. Yes I don know Celtic won the European Cup.
The Doctor Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Rangers aren't the biggest club in scotland though - Inverness Caledonian Thistle are, 3 times the size of rangers (21 letter name to 7 letters).
Narborough_fox Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Rangers aren't the biggest club in scotland though - Inverness Caledonian Thistle are, 3 times the size of rangers (21 letter name to 7 letters). Nice, made me giggle. Also probably produced the logest ever headline.
FoxyPV Posted 3 April 2011 Posted 3 April 2011 Nice, made me giggle. Also probably produced the logest ever headline. Possibly the greatest sporting headline I've ever heard
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