A Guest blog by redlichtie for TSFM
From what I can see Mike Ashley is likely to be the only game in town for RIFC/TRFC fans unless they want to see another of their clubs go through administration/liquidation.
That particular scenario potentially allows for a phoenix to arise from the ashes but on past evidence it is probably going to be an underfunded operation with overly grandiose pretensions taking them right back into the vicious circle they seem condemned to repeat ad nauseam.
Ashley has the muscle to strongarm the various spivs to give up or greatly dilute their onerous contracts and I suspect that is what has been happening behind the scenes.
From Ashley’s point of view I believe that what is being sought is a stable, self-financing operation that he can then sell on whilst retaining income streams of importance to SD.
I also suspect that he will come to some arrangement with the SFA to dispose of his interest once he has stabilised the club.
The problem for RIFC/TRFC fans is that Ashley is not going to fund some mythical “return to where they belong”, though that is beginning to appear to be the second division of the SPFL where they are heading to have a regular gig.
Like at Newcastle, Ashley will cut their coat according to their cloth. This will mean, again like at Newcastle, a mid-table team with good runs every so often. If the finances can be fixed then they will have an advantage over most other Scottish clubs but in the main we will be back to actual footballing skills and good management being what is important (pace “honest mistakes”).
With recent results and footballing style clearly those are issues that will require attention and McCoist seems likely to present RIFC/TRFC with an early opportunity to address at least one aspect of that if he continues with his current “I’m a good guy” press campaign. It may take just one unguarded comment or action and he will be out.
But will the Bears go for Ashley’s plan? So far they seem antagonistic and still cling to their belief that the world owes them a top football club regardless of cost.
If the fans don’t get behind the current entity I can see Ashley deciding the game’s not worth it and cashing in his chips. Some ‘Rangers Men’ will probably turn up and create a new entity for The People to believe in and Ashley will continue to draw in income from shirt sales and, most likely, charging fans at the world famous Albion car park which he will then own.
The upcoming AGM is crucial and from what we have seen of Ashley so far he gets what he wants.
The crushing reality about to descend on The People is that there really is no Santa Claus. A Sanity Clause, perhaps but no Santa Claus.
Radio shortbread just had a discussion about the Fox News “Journalist” yesterday which claimed Birmingham UK was totally Muslim.
The BBC presenter Gary (?) had two “Journalistic advisers” on
http://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/courses/journalism/staff/oneilleamonndr/
Was one of the advisers/experts and there ensued a 3 way discussion of how the offending “journalist” did not check the facts and went straight to “publish/report”
How ironic is that ??
I wonder if any of the BBC sport/football “journalists” were listening to the “advice”
(Except Jim Spence of course)
beatipacificiscotia says:
January 13, 2015 at 8:29 am
I had heard last week Rangers needed money by Monday (yesterday). Well, it has come and gone and no sign of a solution. Are there secret talks that have, for once, managed to stay secret? The press is eerily quiet on the subject. Rangers need £6.5M by Monday, now no-one is talking about it.
What’s going on?
=======================
The sound of silence from Ibrox? Well that’s a first in this long running pantomime, which might indicate that Ashley is making the running. If so, we will get a regulatory notice on AIM, telling us just what we have to be told. No cosy advance briefings to selected true blue journalists, no PR spin, no boardroom leaks. To Ashley this is business, pure and simple. He clearly sees no reason to waste time and energy massaging those oh so delicate Bear egos on a daily basis.
neepheid says:
January 13, 2015 at 9:03 am
The sound of silence from Ibrox? Well that’s a first in this long running pantomime, which might indicate that Ashley is making the running. If so, we will get a regulatory notice on AIM, telling us just what we have to be told. No cosy advance briefings to selected true blue journalists, no PR spin, no boardroom leaks. To Ashley this is business, pure and simple. He clearly sees no reason to waste time and energy massaging those oh so delicate Bear egos on a daily basis.
============================================================
And what about us poor souls on TSFM. Do we not have the right to have our delicate egos massaged on a daily basis 😆
Joking aside – what a catch Ashley would make for a podcast. Obviously so many things would restrict what he could say wrt Rangers.
So I was thinking about his vision as a businessman about the wider Scottish Football arena and how he viewed franchise models.
He might reject the suggestion out of hand given his previous media record. But sometimes leopards do change their spots if they see an advantage to be gained.
I doubt if Ashley has ever previously experienced the personalised onslaught that has landed on him and, at the end of the day, he might say Yes instead of No.
I note we are now getting hung up on the £6.5m required urgently ‘myth’ that sprung out of nowhere.
We have had all these false dawns before and IMO this one will pass like many others before them.
The company will stand or fall by the simple laws of cash flow as opposed to any one catastrophic event.
Either they will have the cash to pay the regular bills, wages, tax, suppliers etc or they won’t.
At present the board are clearly confident there are enough folks willing to bankroll the company and that there is still value to be extracted and deals to be done otherwise people would have been biting Mr Sarver’s hand off and getting the hell out of Dodge.
My guess is that the three bears are being told a few home truths by Mr Llambias about how a slow sustainable rebuild is the way forward as opposed to immediately chucking more money at the problem.
The plan will still be drip feed and a bit of dealing and minor financial restructuring and on we go.
RayCharlez says:
January 13, 2015 at 2:26 am
=====================================================
Yes the Ramsey Principle truly is at the core of the HMRC case and Dr Poon quite rightly identified this in her minority report.
I hadn’t forgotten it but thought it would sail right over the head of the Bear who wrote the original ‘Witchhunt’ piece.
I say that not because of the emotionally biased tripe contained in his latest article but because of his track-record of writing in support of the lunatic State Aid allegations and his podcast support of the rather strange voice-changed Ulster Scot with the religious moniker and cult following – where membership is plummeting – whose podcast provided much hilarity on the subject.
I have undernoted a link wrt to Ramsey that I found useful back in 2012. It’s the kind of piece that’s meat and drink to most posters and lurkers on TSFM.
The article dealing with Ramsey is, of course, way beyond the abilities of the ‘Witchhunt’ writer to read and understand on an objective and unbiased basis. Sadly for some Bears it was ever thus and always will be.
However increasing numbers of Bears are seeing the light although they currently tend to keep it hidden under a bushell as they have as much to fear from deranged Bears as non-Bears who attract their mob ire.
http://www.taxjournal.com/tj/articles/ftt-decision-rangers-fc-case-loans-ebts-30112012
oddjob says:
January 12, 2015 at 11:35 pm
Ecobhoy says,
January 12 2015. A 11.10
Eco, I appreciate your response and accept all of the other references you made in the original post.
I was not wishing to be pedantic in my post,just hoping to ensure you were aware of your “slip” and able to correct!
==================================================
I don’t mind at all and don’t think you were being pedantic as it was an important and valid point.
I can’t remember using the term HMCE for a decade so gawd knows why it popped-up 🙄
A couple of points that spring to mind this morning.
Just to echo others complements and constructive criticism of Auldheid keeping us abreast of the CQN proposal. Like others I just hope it isn’t hijacked by the press for a use that is precisely what the piece apparently warns against. They (MSM) don’t after all, do irony very well but would certainly be malicious enough to take a sarcastic, even, imagine, a deliberately antagonistic one especially prior to the semi.
Re the £6.5m loan. I’m aware of the various theories but the simplest is simply that this was a pathetic effort to get the board to accept a 6.5m loan from the 3Bears that then didn’t need to actually be ‘seen.’ What if the 6.5m was going straight back to them for instance? 2 board seats for zero investment? Surely Keef wasn’t trying to mobilise the mob just to pull that stunt was he? 😉 :irony: 😉 :irony:
Finally just on the revisionary tax calculation I think its unfortunate in some ways that the Ticketus funds were ‘recreated’ by the insurers of Collyer Bristow. The book keepers of cloudy RFC needed no introduction to the concept of the fresh printing of new money to support an otherwise unsustainable footballing model, and yet here were some other guys apparently bunging in money and they weren’t even asked! And pure dead legit anaw! It was bound (to be used by some) to confuse the issue.
Smugas
A press hijack is a possibility but since when is it wrong to speak for self?
When we speak for self we are not trying to force others to accept our view.
They can accept it or reject it but they cannot deny the right to hold it.
When they do that they destroy the very thing they are supposed to defend, the right to hold a view, and as long as that view is not forced on others and only expressed, then what right do the press have to force their view on others expressing theirs?
Let’s wait and see but hijacking an expression of belief backed by reasons for it carries a lot of risk for the press. It says more about them than the authors of the speaking for self statement.
My concern is not so much the possibility of a press hijack, than of a press ignoring of it completely.
It would be a continuation of the MSM MO – if something does not fit the agreed world view don’t mention it!
Someone above joked about getting in one of the new PR groups on the case… It would not be a daft idea to have some way of trying to guarantee follow-up to the ad’s placement.
Altho I imagine the folk concerned have already visited that…
Audheid,
Absolutely.
EDIT: I am right in thinking though that this article will appear in the Herald. I could pretty much write the DR response now tbh.
I note that Hibs have published their annual accounts today for the year up to 31/07/14. They are reporting a headline Operating Loss of £800K, but in reality it’s a loss of £1.2M after player trading etc.
http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/5104
The reports also indicate that the club has outsourced its retail operation, which, along with falling attendances and league position resulted in turnover going down substantially.
The numbers show the urgency that required them to agree a deal with the bank and seek funding from supporters in a share deal.
The amount due to Sir Tom Farmer appears to have gone up from £1.75M to £3M in the course of a year, so he seems to have funded last season’s shortfall in full.
Fans will now have the chance to invest up to £2.5M and acquire 51% of the club. I don’t know the schedule for the share purchase, but with Championship level income, they will still need a fair proportion of it in as soon as possible.
On the issue of Celtic, and whether or not we can take them seriously when they disavow the “Old Firm” brand … this one is for the fans of other clubs who think all I do is slag Sevco …
http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/friends-in-low-places/
Last week after using the Lord Nimmo Smith Decision to back his same club argument, Neil Doncaster phoned a supporter who had e mailed him.
Fair doos
In the course of that conversation whilst the rest of what LNS said was discussed the supporter brought up the matter of the nature of the DOS ebts and how that information was kept from the Commission.
Doncaster’s response was the DOS ebts were irrelevant!
When you set up a Commission to investigate if RFC used ebts from July 1998 with side letters not provided to the SFA, the same ebts with side letters whose existence was denied to HMRC who specifically asked about them, how can those ebts be described as irrelevant?
Their concealment produced a Decision that no longer holds water BECAUSE of the concealment!
If Doncaster does not appreciate that then he is too incompetent to hold his position.
That concealment allowed LNS to cloak illegal ebts with the shallow respectability of the later ebts still under appeal by HMRC.
Doncaster has had the evidence and yet he says the DOS ebts are irrelevant!
Well at least he admitted they existed. Perhaps a few letters asking him why he thinks the SPL being lied to is irrelevant might make him rethink.
Even if it does not, making your letters public here and copying them to your club and favourite journalist will at the least discredit the LNS Decision to an extent it cannot be used to justify something it was not commissioned to do.
In fact the whole investigation, knowing now what was not known then looks like a set up. More on that in due course.
Didn’t Radar Jackson predict financial meltdown if someone did not shower 6,500,000 pound coins on Ibrox by the end of yesterday.
Have I missed something or was Radar reporting a UFO – Unconfirmed Financial Obliteration.
If so, G51 could soon replace New Mexico as the home of record breaking UFO sightings.
And they could get a Los Pollos Hermanos
😉
mcfc
Phil probably put the £6.5 Million story out there just to see how many of Puppet Jacksons strings he could pull.
Phil, how about a story about Martians landing in Govan, see if he’ll run with that next.
James Forrest says:
January 13, 2015 at 11:28 am
James, the full story of the goings on over the last few years is going come out. Sunlight really is the best disinfectant. A lot of reputations are going to be destroyed, and more than a few people will probably regret choosing not to do the right thing, and for the avoidance of doubt as they say, the proportion from Govan, will not be as high as people seem to expect.
Andy Newport @AndyNewportPA
Murdo McLeod and Walter Smith help launch new PR firm Level5
Walter Smith admits he made a mistake joining the Rangers board and should have quit sooner
Tom English @TomEnglishSport
Duped by Charles Green? @AndyNewportPA: Walter Smith admits he made a mistake joining the Rangers board and should have quit sooner”
cavansam says:
January 13, 2015 at 11:51 am
Martians in Govan, I hope one is a centre half and another a striker and will they be eligible for the cup semi 😆
My standard conversation with irate RFC fans on the tax case..and so far it has worked in stopping any rants and shutting them up …and the point has been made on here!
Q You are up on 55 counts of murder and plead guilty on 8 of them. Are you a murderer? Are you?
A Grudging agreement!
Q you are up on 55 counts of Tax cheating and you plead guilty on 8 . Ergo by the same theory you are a tax cheat..pure and simple..Agreed?
A..But we were found completely not guilty!..we were! we were!
….No you were not ,.wee tax case etcetc…go check it out!
The prosecution ie the tax authorities are convinced you are as guilty as hell on the other ones ..they just haven’t nailed you properly yet / judgement seriously flawed etc .. that’s why they are pursuing the others..and they have every right to.
Cue silence and end of conversation
The problem is on all of this..
1 the media have done a great job largely hiding the guilty pleas from the public view ..with the result
2 the judge on the football side ie the SFA is getting away with it ie he has avoided passing down sentence because the felon is one of his mates and if any one looks too closely will find the judge was in probably in on the act.
Meanwhile in oor wee fitba world we have at least one criminal probably two wandering around who have not been sentenced and most folks don’t know about it ….but WE do!
And he or they WILL get sentenced…one day they will!
Thank you RayCharlz, echoboy and others who contributed to my question about MkI avoiding paying their taxes.
You have given me an interesting response and provided pointers for further reading.
If I could provide my interpretation of things below, I trust they won’t be a hundred miles off the mark.
My accountant’s golf partner, came up with the following plan.
He would create an artificial and severe (relative) loss making division/company on paper only in my/my company name.
I would then set my existing profits against this new concern thereby minimising my tax liabilities.
After paying this golfing accountant his fee, I will still be quids in.
I trust this is a simple example, and correct.
Finally, how did Mk1 manage to obtain more astute legal representation than HMRC?
Part 1
Recently I have realised I was very remiss in my early thinking about the buying of Rangers assets from D&P in that I had never really recognised the Manchester-centric forces and influences in operation.
Away back when the Sale & Leaseback details first appeared on CQN I more or less ignored them. I didn’t think it was necessarily a spoof but possibly just another one of the myriad ‘punts’ that the snake oil salesman effortlessly generated like selling the roofs at Murray Park for advertising space as the complex was on the Glasgow Airport flight path.
From 2012 I have written a lot about Green and his connection to Manchester on Scotslawthoughts. I have been mulling over a lot of these posts recently looking at all the old connections and wondering whether there are any links I have missed.
There is no doubt that Green has had long-term business dealing with Manchester City fan Mike McDonald who often seems to have provided capital for projects Green was involved with. Possibly their most newsworthy escapade was Sheffield United Plc.
McDonald appears to be a self-made man who has done well for himself as chairman of Texas Plc which IIRC started as a scrappy and developed into an engineeting company before concentrating on property deals.
When Saturday Comes paints a vivid picture of McDonald:
I wondered why there was no obvious sign of McDonald investing in Sevco 5088 or Sevco Scotland given the past association with Green who I’m sure would have sought-out his old mate in his hour of financial need to tap him up for some hard cash. Of course perhaps the investment was made in a way that hid its origin – done legitimately of course.
And then there’s the Manchester-based Zeus Capital which was critically involved in not only investing in Green’s consortium but could possibly from the birth of the idea although I have never worked out whether the date of conception pre-dated admin or followed it. Zeus also stated on its website: ‘Zeus Capital and its associates are also investors’ in the new Rangers although the amount invested and the associates isn’t revealed.
Timing is always interesting: Imran Ahmad became Managing Director of corporate finance advisory firm Zeus Capital in April 2012 and became heavily involved with Green in the D&P negotiations. Lest we forget it’s worth remembering that Brian Stockbridge was a fellow Zeus director.
A very interesting quote from Green explaining how he became involved states: “I was brought to the transaction by Imran Ahmad following Duff and Phelps contacting Zeus Capital in February, due to their experience in the football sector.”
Of course over time we have learnt to take every Green utterance with a gritter load of salt and he tells a totally different tale elsewhere at:
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/who-was-spartacus-when-duff-phelps-sold-rangers-football-club-by-ecojon/
The above link contains many interesting and important points which are well worth a read including my dual bid theory.
It contains the following from the Zeus website in June 2012:
I also in August 2012 posted: http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/the-many-mysteries-of-the-rangers-fc-shareholding-by-ecojon/
Also worth remembering that D&P had bought out MCR with its Manchester office which assisted the earlier CW version of Rangers with a number of issues which it’s a bit ill-advised to look at in detail in view of the forthcoming criminasl trial/s.
I think that’s a convenient point to break and will return to the CQN Lease & Saleback proposition shortly in Part 2.
ecobhoy says:
January 13, 2015 at 10:05 am
Thanks Ecobhoy for posting this link, which made for very interesting & concentrated reading during my lunch hour. Trying to understand the legalise in my own East End of Glasgow upbringing, my immediate thought was how on earth did the Murray Group get away with it??
easyJambo says:
January 13, 2015 at 11:54 am
10 0 Rate This
Andy Newport @AndyNewportPA
Murdo McLeod and Walter Smith help launch new PR firm Level5
Walter Smith admits he made a mistake joining the Rangers board and should have quit sooner
Tom English @TomEnglishSport
Duped by Charles Green? @AndyNewportPA: Walter Smith admits he made a mistake joining the Rangers board and should have quit sooner”
———-
So, a new PR company, Walter Smith making headlines (though no mention of how much he was paid for being duped).
Before any start-up sees the light if day there’s usually a bit of market analysis to see if the business is viable. Be interesting to know who they really expect to use their services. Players, clubs, directors, ‘journalists’? Will they be writing the news, so others don’t have to? :irony:
A number of Murray Group companies being liquidated according to notices in the Metro.
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/13/7f12d4b018d6b569beafad3f18adc808.jpg
Danish Pastry says:
January 13, 2015 at 12:56 pm
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easyJambo says:
January 13, 2015 at 11:54 am
10 0 Rate This
Andy Newport @AndyNewportPA
Murdo McLeod and Walter Smith help launch new PR firm Level5
Walter Smith admits he made a mistake joining the Rangers board and should have quit sooner
Tom English @TomEnglishSport
Duped by Charles Green? @AndyNewportPA: Walter Smith admits he made a mistake joining the Rangers board and should have quit sooner”
———-
So, a new PR company, Walter Smith making headlines (though no mention of how much he was paid for being duped).
Before any start-up sees the light if day there’s usually a bit of market analysis to see if the business is viable. Be interesting to know who they really expect to use their services. Players, clubs, directors, ‘journalists’? Will they be writing the news, so others don’t have to?
______________________________________________________
An attempt to cut Jack Irvine’s grass?
This could get messy
Murray Group winding up orders also in the Gazette
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/insolvency/notice?sort-by=latest-date&text=Murray&categorycode=G205010000+G206030000&location-distance-1=1&numberOfLocationSearches=1&results-page-size=10
I wonder if this will affect the defence participation/legal costs at the HMRC appeal against the UTTT decision.
Whyte in court today – in private!
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/u/former-rangers-owner-whyte-involved-in-behind-closed-doors-high-court-hearing.1421154081
Was pretty certain Craig Whyte hearing would be in private given he is facing live criminal proceedings
Auldheid says:
January 13, 2015 at 11:40 am
Last week after using the Lord Nimmo Smith Decision to back his same club argument, Neil Doncaster phoned a supporter who had e mailed him.
Fair doos
In the course of that conversation whilst the rest of what LNS said was discussed the supporter brought up the matter of the nature of the DOS ebts and how that information was kept from the Commission.
Doncaster’s response was the DOS ebts were irrelevant!
When you set up a Commission to investigate if RFC used ebts from July 1998 with side letters not provided to the SFA, the same ebts with side letters whose existence was denied to HMRC who specifically asked about them, how can those ebts be described as irrelevant?
Their concealment produced a Decision that no longer holds water BECAUSE of the concealment!
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Yep
Spot on again Auldheid
My mind goes back to the formation of TSFM when there was an earnest debate and vote on what to call the new blog
I was in the camp of those who favoured titles like “Abolish Corruption in Scottish Football” with the aim of maintaining focus on the poison eating away at our national game
The democratic vote chose TSFM
I still think it was wrong
easyJambo says:
January 13, 2015 at 1:44 pm
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Whyte in court today – in private!
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/u/former-rangers-owner-whyte-involved-in-behind-closed-doors-high-court-hearing.1421154081
=======
What is the point in this court action they know he doesn’t have the money
On the CQN statement / advert thing in the Herald.
Great to see fans taking the initiative and telling it like it is.
Is there anything to stop fans of other clubs acting similarly?
Wouldn’t it be great to see a similar advert taken out by fans of other clubs?
Anything stopping them from doing this?
Imagine. A weekly reminder in the sports section of the Sunday Herald and / or the Scotland on Sunday that the national sport is corrupt and in the hands of crooks and spivs.
Wouldn’t it be great to see the message coming from Aberdeen one week, Edinburgh the next, Dundee the week after.
Fans across the country, representing their own groups, saying enough is enough – we will not accept the lies and the corruption.
The CQN folks are to be applauded for taking the lead.
Will other fan groups step up to the plate?
The road to freeing our sport form the blazers and the spivs requires fans from all clubs reasserting their supremacy over the blazers and the spivs.
Without fans, the game is nothing.
Part 2
Just a reminder that Part 1 depicted Manchester as the centre of a Spider’s Web whose trip wires connect to a multitude of different events such as the death of Rangers; subsequent D&P hawking-off commercially-valuable bits of the financially prostrate Rangers corpse; and the possible fate of some of the bits.
Also worth repeating that what set me off down memory lane was the CQN Sale & Lease post involving Ibrox and Murray Park and the speculation that there could be a long buried mechanism involving the properties which triggered an onerous payment at a later date.
The speculation is predicated on the fact that an alleged sale & leaseback of Ibrox and Murray Park may have place place back in 2012.
Some clues can be found in the alphabet soup which those in charge of Rangers regularly spout but I won’t run through them because every TSFM reader and lurker knows what they are and have formed their own opinion of the strengths and weaknesses of the bits and pieces.
However in poking through the Rangers/Manchester connection where many key players are based or have serious connection I came across an amazing tale wrt to the leasing of an office block where a ‘sweetener’ became a poison pill which financially wrecked one of England’s biggest legal companies.
I will make a legal disclaimer at this point and say I know of no connection between this property deal and any deal, real or imagined, with any of the multiple emanations of Rangers or indeed any person connected to Rangers pre or post administration/liquidation.
However there is absolutely no doubt the property deal I describe was the talk of the Manchester steamie when it happened and I have little doubt that anyone in the city involved in property or financing will be well aware of it.
The nightmare tale is what movies are made of – a bit like the Ibrox Debacle – but it’s difficult to believe it actually happened and isn’t simply a work of fiction.
The film opens with sunshine, laughter, music and champagne corks popping as Halliwells LLP became an anchor-tenant in Mancheter’s Spinningfields commercial development described as the Canary Wharf of the North.
A few short years later in 2010 the champagne turned to vinegar with our old friend BDO handling the administration of what, at that time, was the biggest English law firm to go bust leaving an uncertain future for its 116 partners and 850 employees. Initial thoughts were that market conditions and too high a rent for the Manchester HQ had caused the crash.
So how did it all unravel? Quite simply good old-fashioned pillow talk 🙂 in March 2007 one of the receptionists in the Manchester HQ apparently heard a rumour that the firm’s partners were in for a hefty bonus even by banking standards.
So that night she asked her junior partner bidey-in what they were going to spend his bonus on and why hadn’t he told her about it! Yea I’ve been in that movie too.
But it turns out he knew nothing and within days the office bush telgraph – or should I say social media – was buzzing and the firm went into meltdown from which it didn’t recover.
A side-deal emerged revealing a £20 million sweetener had been agreed that for Halliwells to sign the lease the landlord had arranged a reverse premium payable to the law company. There was also apparently an introductory period of reduced rental being charged.
So nothing wrong there! However it seems the junior partners discovered the firm’s equity partners kept the deal secret and shared the £20 million between themselves with some getting up to £1 million. The administrators later alleged that a minute had been altered to conceal the deal.
At the end of the day having seen what happened at halliwells I have no doubt that CQN could well be on the money with their Sale & Leaseback arrangement which certainly showed a novel way of extracting cash from what might well have been a onerous rental contract other than the normally expected rent-free or reduced-rent period.
Being a cynic it makes me wonder whether such reductions are merely part of the smoke and mirrors in certain property deals masking other bigger cash attractions.
However as I said earlier I make no suggestion that anything of the sort that happened at Halliwells apply to Rangers whether in alive or deid mode.
There were lots of other side issues involved which are interesting but outwith my remit here. Fellow anoraks can find some detail at: http://www.ion.icaew.com/insolvencyblog/post/In-the-matter-of-Halliwells-LLP
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30800155
“Rangers: Walter Smith will not return in official capacity”
Lots of regrets from Saint Walter. about taking all that money 😥 😥
Murray Group winding up orders also in the Gazette
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/insolvency/notice?sort-by=latest-date&text=Murray&categorycode=G205010000+G206030000&location-distance-1=1&numberOfLocationSearches=1&results-page-size=10
I wonder if this will affect the defence participation/legal costs at the HMRC appeal against the UTTT decision.
==============================================================
Will need to check the companies againt the defendants to the HMRC claims. Could be that the Murray Empire has decided to throw in the towel and not defend the latest appeal from HMRC.
Not sure if this would let the companies off the hook. Of course any ‘good’ assets in these companies could have been sold/transferred – quite legitimately – simply leaving an empty husk of a legal entity.
Aren’t we lucky the ‘Club’ survives and will be able to pay the debts 🙁
I wonder if this is what has sparked the attack on HMRC – a wee bit of proactive PR in action ❓
What’s left? Will be very interesting to read the SMSM on the Death of an Era or should that be Aura?
neepheid says:
January 13, 2015 at 2:56 pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30800155
“Rangers: Walter Smith will not return in official capacity”
==========================================================
He’s basically walking away and I don’t say that in a nasty way. It’s what I am seeing personally with life-long Rangers supporters who for a complex mix of reasons have had enough.
Smith stayed long enough to do the job he was hired for.
That was to suck Season Ticket money from confused fans.
Ally’s lustre was becoming a bit faded by then.
Expect to see a lot of repositioning of RRM.
What about this new PR company?
Looks like an alliance of True Blues with the intention of replacing MH and the other one, as the propaganda wing of Sevco2.
http://t.co/NAcXNLU3mq. Phils latest
What about a tontine to resolve the battle of the “investors, intent thereof”?
Park, the other two(?), Easdales, King, Ashley, Sarver each put in £5mill and run the club within or outwith it’s means as they wish and the last one living inherits? Contingent liabilities would remain just that. Instant war chest. It would be in their own individual interests to make it viable and would encourage a healthy life style.
Just an idea. If I come up with any more I’m happy to share.
Ecobhoy at 2.59pm. My reading of the Gazette piece is that Murray Int.Holdings which was the legal name of his metals empire is being wound up and liquidated, albeit as Murray Group Management. Would you agree?
sickofitall says:
January 13, 2015 at 3:26 pm
http://t.co/NAcXNLU3mq. Phils latest
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Only thing I don’t agree with is the Easdale support. I’m very much of the opinion that if I was a Bear under no circumstances would I support a director who represents a sizable group of mystery offshore investors who could well hold the balance of power. I would want to know who yanked his chain.
I also tend to be very suspicious of people who make a big deal about doing things for nothing – I’m afraid that life has taught me that unfortunately there is usually a motive.
Sometimes good sometimes bad. On this one the jury’s out for me till the mystery offshore investors he represents are identified and it’s established whether they hold onerous contracts or not.
ecobhoy says:
January 13, 2015 at 3:08 pm
2 0 Rate This
neepheid says:
January 13, 2015 at 2:56 pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30800155
“Rangers: Walter Smith will not return in official capacity”
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He’s basically walking away and I don’t say that in a nasty way. It’s what I am seeing personally with life-long Rangers supporters who for a complex mix of reasons have had enough.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I have had more than enough of Walter with his infamous comment to the effect that living with their means is not “the Rangers way”, and money spent will just be sort of somehow found. I can’t find the quote right now. No wonder he’s walking away with Uncle Mike’s austerity programme looking favourite for the future. An utter scoundrel, in my opinion.
ekt1m says:
January 13, 2015 at 3:42 pm
Ecobhoy at 2.59pm. My reading of the Gazette piece is that Murray Int.Holdings which was the legal name of his metals empire is being wound up and liquidated, albeit as Murray Group Management. Would you agree?
======================================================
I haven’t had the chance to do any checking yet. But I don’t think I can go down your road yet as the Premier Property Group and IIRC at least one other property company is also named.
And tbh I no longer have the Murray Group structure in my head – that will instantly reveal what sections are being axed and show where the various companies named actually sit.
Premier owned the world famous Albion Carpark at one stage IIRC.
ecobhoy says:
January 13, 2015 at 2:51 pm
Good to see the bank playing nice, though I hope none of the partners involved in the, erm, sharp practice, benefited from having their PPLs honoured
Re Whyte in court
This is when the Establishment have a chance to assess just how much he does know and in what form thus
allowing them to devise a strategy whereby he walks thus
preventing dark secrets of the past crawling out of their hiding place into the sun.
Just to say thanks to all for the quality of posts of recent.
The quality of analysis and credible speculation makes this the only place where an objective a comprehensive overview can be obtained.
Chapeau
neepheid says:
January 13, 2015 at 3:44 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 13, 2015 at 3:08 pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30800155
“Rangers: Walter Smith will not return in official capacity”
==========================================================
He’s basically walking away and I don’t say that in a nasty way. It’s what I am seeing personally with life-long Rangers supporters who for a complex mix of reasons have had enough.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I have had more than enough of Walter with his infamous comment to the effect that living with their means is not “the Rangers way”, and money spent will just be sort of somehow found. I can’t find the quote right now. No wonder he’s walking away with Uncle Mike’s austerity programme looking favourite for the future. An utter scoundrel, in my opinion.
=================================================================
Walter’s a busted flush and no longer of any importance. I know what he is and what he’s done. But he’s trashed his own legend and he knows it and so do the Bears.
It’s odd that given the need for cash quickly things have gone very quiet on the transfer front. I’m sure Phil said the other week that a buyer had been sourced for Lee Wallace. Maybe the player is refusing to budge. He’ll be on a decent wedge and probably due more if they reach the top league. If it all goes belly up he’s free to negotiate for himself, he won’t be short of offers I imagine.
sickofitall says:
January 13, 2015 at 3:26 pm
http://t.co/NAcXNLU3mq. Phils latest
++++++++++++
Phil, as ever, sketches out just enough so you can add your own colour and imagine the final picture to be whatever you wish for. But we wouldn’t have him any other way. 😛
There are some statements though that are potentially explosive. The “off the books debt” beneficiaries would be the largest unsecured creditor in an insolvency situation. They would have the power to be King-makers, or executioners. I don’t know which is more likely.
Very interesting stuff. Phil, if you are reading, are we finally approaching the end game? Rangers seem to be spinning faster and faster now as they approach the plug hole.
scapaflow says:
January 13, 2015 at 3:53 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 13, 2015 at 2:51 pm
Good to see the bank playing nice, though I hope none of the partners involved in the, erm, sharp practice, benefited from having their PPLs honoured
============================================================
Well its taxpayers money 😆
You should have a look at the agreements reached in the 4 pre-packs for Halliwells for real creative legal drafting.
Have a look at: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/professionals/former-halliwells-partners-court-win-8018693
ecobhoy says:
January 13, 2015 at 4:09 pm
It is taxpayers money.
However, for the bank, a consideration should be looking at the future, we can get x just now, but, can we actually generate more return, if we assist the rescue of those bits that can be rescued.
The sacrifice of real long term gains, for much smaller short term returns, because that’s how “success” is often measured, has long been a bug bear of mine.
Alright guys this is my first time commenting on the blog i have been a follower for the last couple of years and a massive fan of all the hard work you guys do to keep the blog both relevant and interesting.
Have you guys seen the latest stuff on Private Eye with regards to Worthington Group and Craigy Whyte? There is a link on e-tims showing the item from private eye that it could be them who is owed not just 6.5 million but 10 million pound.
I didnt really understand what the article meant but i was hoping one of our more learned bloggers could explain it in layman’s terms
Keep up the good work
beatipacificiscotia says:
January 13, 2015 at 4:06 pm
6 0 Rate This
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End game?
I have no idea what the end of this shambles would look like.
The Rangers story had a clear and logical conclusion-which I flagged up throughout the latter half of 2011.
They run out of money, Administration, HMRC will block CVA. Bye bye.
It happened.
However the RIFC/Sevco saga is beyond my ability to chart it and I have stated that on more than one occasion.
ecobhoy says: January 13, 2015 at 2:59 pm
The five companies named in the FTTT/UTTT were:
Murray Group Holdings Ltd, Murray Group Management Ltd, the Premier Property Group Ltd and GM Mining Ltd and of course Rangers Football Club PLC (now RFC 2012(IL))
From the Insolvency notices we have:
G M MINING LIMITED – check
MURRAY GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – check
MURRAY INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED
THE PREMIER PROPERTY GROUP LIMITED – check
MURRAY OUTSOURCING LIMITED
PPG LAND LIMITED
MURRAY GROUP MANAGEMENT LIMITED – check
PREMIER BURRELL LIMITED
CHARLOTTE VENTURES (CUNNING PARK) LIMITED
MMH NSS LIMITED
So we have a full house of companies involved in the EBT scheme all now in Liquidation proceedings.
has anyone seen the ‘Private eye’ article yet re CW being owed serious dough by sevco rangers? It’s on E-Tims. Sorry, I don’t know how to do the link. Explosive if true, worth a look.
yakutski
here ya go
http://etims.net/?p=6355
Is The Contingent Liability The Whole Story ?
IIRC, Somers (or was it Wallace) dismissed the contingent liability (CL) a while ago as having no substance – maybe someone can point to the exact quote.
So something doesn’t add up. Either the CL has much substance and Somers (Wallace) was blagging it – as in “we’ll tell the onerous contractors to GTF and we’ll see them in court if they dare.” [paraphrased]. Remember that macho moment at the AGM ?
You see, if the CL was as flimsy as has been suggested, I’m sure Somers and others could have sat down with the Three Bears, explained the situation, shown the legal opinion from their QC and said; “what about it, you can see this CL is thinner than a Rizla, your risk is exceptionally low over the next year, you are Rangers Men, brogued and blazered, surely such a meagre risk will not deter you from doing what is right for this great club. Why not take your own legal advice and let’s talk again next week.”.
So perhaps there is a different, substantial and much more definite reason why “we can’t give them the security they want” *. Something like an off balance sheet liability over the hallowed turf and millstone training ground. Or maybe the legal opinion is simply that the CL is a real and present danger that can be activated at any time at the whim of its holder.
* http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/security-problem/
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 13, 2015 at 4:33 pm
2 0 Rate This
———
Phil,
Was trying to get my head around the logic of the overseas mystery people being the potential biggest creditors. Something to do with who owns what? Or binding contracts hidden from view?
Jungle Jim says:
January 13, 2015 at 4:04 pm
I’ve been thinking about that today, JJ, and reckon it could be to do with the fact they have a pretty much do or die match on Friday night.
I won’t tempt fate by suggesting if they lose it they will be out of the Championship race, but if they win it, it will give them some hope, perhaps enough to add a few thousand walk ups for a few weeks at least. I suspect even Mike Ashley will be keen to give the club every chance to win that game, then sell off whoever they can before the window closes.
There is, of course, the small problem of finding a buyer, and they (potential buyers) would probably all be prepared to sit and wait until things become even tighter at Ibrox. In addition, if they sell off their best players too quickly, their own supporters might realise the last thing they want to do is buy tickets for the game of the century. It would be a great embarrassment for all concerned if TRFC didn’t sell out their allocation, and wouldn’t look too good for any deals with Arabs either!
It could end up being the first, and last, ‘non-Old Firm match’, ever to be called an ‘Old Firm match’ 😀
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 13, 2015 at 4:33 pm
beatipacificiscotia says:
January 13, 2015 at 4:06 pm
6 0 Rate This
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End game?
I have no idea what the end of this shambles would look like.
The Rangers story had a clear and logical conclusion-which I flagged up throughout the latter half of 2011.
They run out of money, Administration, HMRC will block CVA. Bye bye.
It happened.
However the RIFC/Sevco saga is beyond my ability to chart it and I have stated that on more than one occasion.
____________
Thanks Phil, I am with you. The path was clear for Rangers 1872, for anyone who wanted to see. Administration was inevitable and liquidation would inevitably follow that. I cannot see who this will end though. You have said in the past that there are too many “moving pieces”. The difficulty is knowing who is moving the pieces, and where they want to get them to.
Is there a plan, or are they at the stage of making it up as they go along? Who knows. In chess terms I would like to think we have had the opening moves, the middle game has played out, and the final moves will become clear.
Life is so much simpler in our former colonies.
“Eastern Air Lines reboot takes flight
One of the most familiar names in US aviation is almost back in business……..
Eastern will be based in Miami like is famous predecessor which was one of the country’s biggest airlines in the 1980s although its history can be traced back to its founding in 1927.
It went out of business following bankruptcy in 1991.
The current reincarnation has no ties to the old company, having bought the rights to the Eastern name and logo, but CEO Ed Wegel hopes the name will still resonate with air travelers…..”
http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2014730&c=setreg®ion=3&cat=7
Scottish Football needs a strong Eastern contingent.
Question.
IF the assets are out of reach for security purposes, has the massive cash deficit Sevco have been running for three years been an attempt to get them back? If, for instance, an entirely hypothetical third party lender assisted a previous entity, say with £24m, got stuffed and grabbed whatever assets they could, do they then offer a sale back offer – return my £24m and the properties are yours – of do they offer a sale and leaseback whereby they simply cream and leech for ever more?
On an entirely separate and completely unconnected note 😈 it always confused me why Whyte signed a personal guarantee for the Ticketus funds, that Ticketus subsequently acted on and yet he still appears completely unconcerned (the small matter of personal bankruptcy aside, granted).
Danish Pastry says:
January 13, 2015 at 4:42 pm
1 0 Rate Th
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The former
MCFC
Deloittes insisted the CL was noted in the accounts , so there must be some concern it’s a valid claim.
Equally the sale and leaseback had been agreed with the Manchester financial organisation in 2012, so they must have been comfortable with title
The CL claim will ultimately be for a monetary value. The properties may or may not be used to satisfy a successful claim
There was word put out by members of the SMSM, KJ was one, that a shock announcement (or maybe leak) re £6.5m awaited us all on Monday (yesterday) and that welcome news for bears was also about to be announced re the 3 bears. No news was forthcoming, though they did get it right not to predict that Sarver’s deal would be accepted 🙄
I have not seen any report from the MSM on either of the claims they made, though I acknowledge there might only have been a couple of their members actually spouting off. In contrast, though, we have Phil doing his own follow-up to his pieces from the end of last week, which, if accurate (he can only go on the word of others), are probably a bit too deep and heart-breaking for the stenographers to contemplate.
For the stenographers (I do like that description), the lack of any announcement from Ibrox re either the £6.5m or the 3 bears bid should have sparked some questioning and, at the very least, some mention in their rags (or even twitter), just to acknowledge they hadn’t happened.
So, either the hacks have just sat twiddling their thumbs, or they don’t like what any ‘investigating’ has uncovered!
I seem to remember that one of the ‘reporters’ basis for his confidence that a deal had been done was that he’d seen one of the 3 bears (Park?) with a big smile on his face (so it must have been a successful deal). Perhaps he was just relieved that he’d discovered that he wouldn’t be throwing any of his millions into the bear-(money)-pit!
Allyjambo says:
January 13, 2015 at 5:29 pm
The lack of any leaks, even we are making progress leaks, is really quite telling.
When your two old is quiet, you bet the wee so and so is crayoning on the wall
Barcabhoy says:
January 13, 2015 at 5:24 pm
0 0 Rate This
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Yes
statement from Hands on Hibs
https://www.facebook.com/463793980429256/photos/a.464213177054003.1073741828.463793980429256/522552067886780/?type=1&theater
Allyjambo says:
January 13, 2015 at 5:29 pm
1 0 Rate This
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http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/aug/06/daily-record-rangers
I cannot claim the coinage for that one…
Not Sure Why This Came to Mind
I’m told by a senior design engineer at a prestigious car maker, that if you find yourself unable to avoid a heavy collision with another car, you should manoeuvre to hit the other car square on, even if that means head on. That way, your meticulously engineered crumple zone, airbags etc will perform as designed and offer you maximum protection with the least chance of you spinning off and hitting something else. In general the more off centre a heavy collision is, the greater the unpredictability of the deformation and deflection. The most dangerous frontal impact is where you overlap the other car by 50%, which combines putting the entire load on one side of your crumple zone and causing you to spin. Of course if there are multiple vehicles involved things get very, very complicated, beyond the accurate predictive powers of engineers and super-computers. But his advice, flatteringly assuming that I have the reactions of a fighter pilot, is pick the biggest, fastest moving thing that is going to hit you heavily and try to hit it square on, because that represents the biggest risk to your safety. To that I’ll add my personal experience, avoid hitting biggish trees at all cost – they just do not move and they do not crumple.
So even in the split seconds of a car crash, a little knowledge and fore thought can achieve a much better outcome – although obviously not better than avoiding the crash in the first place. Drive carefully.
In today’s Metro Public Notices. 9 companies all part of the Murray empire are to be wound up. Murray Int. Holdings, Murray Group Holdings, G.M. Mining Ltd, Charlotte Ventures Ltd, P.P.G.Land Ltd, Premier Burrell Ltd, The Premier Property Group Ltd, Murray Outsourcing Ltd. 7 of these are to be wound up by Deloitte LLP. The 8th by a separate liquidator. Edit. Apologies EJ didn’t notice your post earlier at 4.34pm
Barcabhoy says:
January 13, 2015 at 5:24 pm
The CL claim will ultimately be for a monetary value. The properties may or may not be used to satisfy a successful claim
=====================================================
I’ve always assumed that RIFC have hoped to steady the ship and buy out the CL for cash. That would suit the holder, because pursuing it through the courts would be costly, messy and too revealing for all concerned. But meanwhile the CL is the very thing that will probably destroy any hope of steadying the ship.
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 13, 2015 at 5:42 pm
I’m sure RG must be quite happy with that one. Yet to see the, umm, stenographers use it 🙂
Can anyone clarify who was paying for the Big Tax Case defence team? I thought it was the Murray Group, but I seem to remember something about BDO being prepared to fund the case as liquidators?
I’m sure RG must be quite happy with that one. Yet to see the, umm, stenographers use it 🙂
neepheid says: January 13, 2015 at 6:14 pm
————————
From the last BDO Report to Creditors:
Following receipt of Counsel’s updated opinion following the UTT proceedings, the Joint Liquidators remain of the view that the Company’s position in respect of the EBT claim is robust,
and intend to be represented at both the FTT and the Court of Session hearings.
To date, the cost to the Liquidation of participating in the EBT proceedings has been minimal, with the costs being funded by a third party. Going forward, the third party has asked for the Liquidation estate to make a contribution to the future costs of the process. Having liaised with the Committee, we are now seeking to agree an apportionment of costs acceptable to both parties.
Based on current information, the Joint Liquidators anticipate that both hearings will likely be heard in the early part of 2015.