SFM – The Next Steps

As we all know, this site emerged from the ashes of RTC. The wish of the original administrator of the site, one which I wholeheartedly share, was to keep together the wonderful community RTC had built, in terms of both personnel and spirit. There are still many individuals around who were also part of RTC, and regrettably many who are no longer with us. The RTC spirit however, that of a cross-party football site where issues can be discussed in a respectful and insightful manner remains. The “wisdom of the crowd” phenomenon is also with us to perhaps an even greater extent than before, and consequently SFM’s credentials as a formidable alternative to the print media have grown.

In recent times, many contributors have expressed frustration that we are pretty much a talking shop and little else; characterised as “a lot of gum bashing and no teeth”. I think that is fair comment up to a point, but then again our aim – up to now – has been to simply present an alternative view – a view that has increasingly become the fan view as opposed to the industry view (the industry being made up of club officials, players, and press).

In fact the way I see it personally, SFM has evolved to a point where it has become the watchdog (monitor if you will) of an industry which is subject to very little oversight. The Rangers situation will eventually be done with (no laughing at the back please), and like everything else will be consigned to history (albeit more than one). The same self-interest and lack of regard for sporting integrity though will still remain, and the need for oversight will remain also.

Having arrived at those conclusions,  we have two alternatives; the first is to remain as we are (which is not a bad place to be), and the second is that SFM has to expand its role.

In recent weeks, the mods have met to discuss this, and we think that we ought to give the latter option a try. As to how we want to achieve that, and we have come up with a skeleton plan as follows;

1. We need to move into the area of gathering news content as well as commenting on what appears elsewhere;

2. We should act as a cross-club portal to get good fan site content from all clubs to a wider audience;

3. We need to highlight the positives in the game as well as the negatives;

4. We should become an actively campaigning body, aligning with fan groups to lobby for the changes we think important.

 In order to achieve these objectives, more time will need to be spent on communication like podcasts, adding news content, expanding membership and building links with other fan groups. Time will also need to be spent  setting up features, attending press conferences etc. Later in the year, one of the mods will have much more time on his hands to help achieve this.

Podcasts, premium content, labour, organisation and all of the above costs money, and ultimately a subscription based model backed by sponsorship seems to be our best way of achieving that. In order to give us a head start, we will in the next few months be putting together a business-plan and a pitch for Crowd Funding investment.

This is not to say that our existing model has been a failure. We have successfully managed to keep ourselves afloat through the ad-hoc generosity of people in our community, although the inability to keep the podcasts going has been a bit frustrating. Finding income streams which are more solid will allow us to respond to events more quickly (for example mounting an ad campaign to respond to some event or other, or buying new equipment), and hopefully achieve all of our objectives – and build a bigger audience base for our message.

Of course a move of this nature will require that, in the interests of transparency, anonymity of SFM will have to be set aside. That will not affect any of our contributors, and our practice of using (sometimes) imaginative names on the blog will remain. However, for crowd funding to be successful, we will require to have a board in place, and there is no hiding place from Companies House. The make up of the board is also crucial, and in addition to consideration of blog members for that role, we will be looking to have respected people from without.

I imagine there may be a consequent subtle effect on moderation policy to take into account.

The reason I have made this post is to keep the community up to speed with events. Although we have decided to move forward to see if we can get support for our business plan, that plan is by no means finished. As I said earlier, the “wisdom of crowds” has made our community unique and given it its credibility. There’s a lot more wisdom out there we hope to tap into before we go ahead with our initiative.

We already had someone in mind for chairman of the new board, but events have conspired tragically to rob us of that – and had the effect of postponing this announcement. However we would like to hear suggestions for suitable outside candidates for board and committee places.

We also want to hear from you if you have a suggestion to be added to our wish list of SFM function above – or even if you think it is a mistake to embark on this course.

This is a very big move for SFM, so we don’t want to rush into anything. We need to listen to what you folks have to say, because if the merging SFM is not considered a better SFM by our community there is very little point in looking to fund it.

This entry was posted in General by Trisidium. Bookmark the permalink.
Tom Byrne

About Trisidium

Trisidium is a Dunblane businessman with a keen interest in Scottish Football. He is a Celtic fan, although the demands of modern-day parenting have seen him less at games and more as a taxi service for his kids.

3,023 thoughts on “SFM – The Next Steps


  1. easyJambo says:
    Member: (629 comments)
    June 2, 2015 at 8:53 pm

    Listening to 5Live, it seems that Chuck Blazer’s testimony will be “unsealed” by the US Attorney General tomorrow…
    ————–

    ‘Chuck Blazer … resign!’ That statement works in Scottish fitba annaw — when shouted in the direction of the high heid yins 😆

    Affy quiet. Warburton & Weir are the big story? Level 5 must still be on ‘fluids only’ after the weekend. Maybe there were multi puff pastry pieces pre-prepared for print now binned or being re-written due to unforeseen results on the pitch … and the sudden disappearance of the new chairman.


  2. Just checked the MSM, and still not the faintest sign of leadership from the top of the marble stairs.

    The new regime is transparently out of its depth

    They honestly don’t have a clue where to start

    And as for accountability – well – that’s just a load of numbers isn’t it?

    New Regime = Emerge, Win


  3. Do you get the feeling that the New Regime at Ibrox don’t even trust one another,transparently speaking of course.


  4. Glad to hear Clyde have taken a break for the footy phone in.
    I don’t listen to it but I won’t need to read on here what was on last night.please don’t give it oxygen and it may die or change.


  5. its not all bad news down edi drive….. if trfc shift 25k season tickets for NEXT season they will be able to pay off the £ 9.5m of loans they needed to finnish 15th and exit three cups LAST season.

    OUCH….. they definately need ‘ the worlds greatest interim chairman of a football club’ in there…..


  6. Great to see Blatter resign, although one wonders if he clung on just to give himself a few more months to shred a few papers and clean the computers – shutting the gate after the horse has bolted springs to mind. As I said previously I think the federations (Africa and Asia particularly) now need to worry. In the past Blatter has let them do their own thing and, as far as I know, the ‘sub-Federations” regulate themselves (question – who audits the auditor) so it has allowed the likes of Hayatou (CAF President) a free rein in, like Blatter, doing what he wants and, like Blatter, paying himself unknown sums and organizing TV and media contracts through whoever they want. I don’t think the new President will change Africa’s 5 WC places but I suspect they will now want to use Blatter’s comment that he can’t control everyone (because he did not try)and insist on FIFA being able to audit and regulate the Federations – watch out for some changes and more shredding as and when that happens. Africa and Asia might vote against but they would know that it might come at a financial cost to all of them. The price of backing the wrong horse at the wrong time.

    The winds of change have grown to tornado proportions in FIFA and one can only surmise that Blatter knows what is coming. Nothing lasts for ever, not even the threat of Armageddon, so it will be interesting to see if Ogilvie, Doncaster and Regan learn the lessons of the FIFA [and their own] mess and extract a digit before they meet the same fate. Anyone got a copy of the 5-way agreement for Monsieur Platini or Prince Ali?


  7. mcfc says:
    Member: (1320 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 8:37 am

    Just checked the MSM, and still not the faintest sign of leadership from the top of the marble stairs.
    ______________________________________

    Whatever he might be, Dave King is no leader! He should have had something ready to give his followers by 5 o’clock on Monday, regardless of Sunday’s result. Green, Wallace, Ashley, even Whyte, would have.

    Any TRFC supporter who cares to take a look at what’s happening at Ibrox will surely realise that, from the very top, all the way through to the players and admin staff, there is nothing of substance, nothing to give them hope. At this moment in time they are in a worse place than they have been at any time since Charles Green first ‘bought the history’.

    That may change with an announcement of vast riches arriving, but Monday was the day to announce that (but not even a hint), and with every passing day, things can only get worse.


  8. high beeswax says:
    Member: (13 comments)

    June 3, 2015 at 9:40 am

    its not all bad news down edi drive….. if trfc shift 25k season tickets for NEXT season they will be able to pay off the £ 9.5m of loans they needed to finnish 15th and exit three cups LAST season.

    OUCH….. they definately need ‘ the worlds greatest interim chairman of a football club’ in there…..
    ____________________________________-

    And the June salaries (reduced though they may be) and other running costs and bills will, in all probability, have to be met from the ST income, or from even more loans. And there lies yet another quandary for the board, do they encourage June sales of STs with some quick marquee signings, and add to the salary costs for June and July, or do they hang fire to give their finances a bit of a breathing space?


  9. Allyjambo says:
    Member: (980 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 9:43 am

    =========================

    Quite so. The EGM next Friday will be most interesting – how thoughtful of Ashley to arrange it so soon after the play-off final – coincidence ? No !

    Ashley is a planner and a player – not just a sayer – well not even a sayer. Will Ashley be at the EGM to ask qestions in person – probably not – but maybe Llambias will be his proxy. Must-see, car-crash TV. The only evasive action King can take is to bow to Ashley’s plan and do big-time austerity and humility – or produce £50mil to buy out Ashley and fund his football fantasy – which is most likely?


  10. Allyjambo says:
    Member: (981 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 9:52 am

    high beeswax says:
    Member: (13 comments)

    June 3, 2015 at 9:40 am

    its not all bad news down edi drive….. if trfc shift 25k season tickets for NEXT season they will be able to pay off the £ 9.5m of loans they needed to finnish 15th and exit three cups LAST season.

    OUCH….. they definately need ‘ the worlds greatest interim chairman of a football club’ in there…..
    ____________________________________-

    And the June salaries (reduced though they may be) and other running costs and bills will, in all probability, have to be met from the ST income, or from even more loans. And there lies yet another quandary for the board, do they encourage June sales of STs with some quick marquee signings, and add to the salary costs for June and July, or do they hang fire to give their finances a bit of a breathing space?

    ______________________________________________

    Don’t the Directors run a ‘wrongful trading’ risk if they draw down on the ST income before the fixtures have actually been played, since they still have a ‘going concern’ notice on their accounts?


  11. mcfcmcfc says:
    Member: (1321 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 10:00 am

    Quite so. The EGM next Friday will be most interesting – how thoughtful of Ashley to arrange it so soon after the play-off final – coincidence ? No !

    Ashley is a planner and a player – not just a sayer – well not even a sayer. Will Ashley be at the EGM to ask qestions in person – probably not – but maybe Llambias will be his proxy. Must-see, car-crash TV. The only evasive action King can take is to bow to Ashley’s plan and do big-time austerity and humility – or produce £50mil to buy out Ashley and fund his football fantasy – which is most likely?
    ————-

    The longer it stays quiet the bigger the expectation from King & Co. From what you read it seems the real diehard fans have pinned absolutely everything on King delivering something, anything.

    Accomodation with Ashley, if still achievable, must be more and more likely. A bitter pill for some but surely he offers a secure future, even if toned down triumphalism for the masses. Otherwise they need to start FC Rangers of Glasgow, as they should have in 2012.


  12. Part of the difficulty with Clyde being tenants of NLC is that effectively all they own are some used football strips and balls. (Not literally but it illustrates the point.) TRFC might not even own as much as that. There are gey few of their squad worth transfer money and the strips are in the hand of the Maestro Ashley.
    Things have become so clear that even Mr McMurdo is starting to talk some sober sense and it is to be hoped that folk will pay attention to that
    As of the Clyde Rangers season there was another figure on the way to Bazza who masterminded the drop through the leagues and who is oft quoted here Bomber himself pause for sweaty words.


  13. 1 thing that has changed for me over the last week or so

    Is a new found respect for the American’s (notice not yanks anymore)
    Can now even forgive them for not knowing the name of the beautiful game
    Sock wearer or something I think they call it 😛

    For all the shouting/posturing UEFA/EFA etc have done
    Its the American’s who have took action

    And in American baseball terminology

    They stepped up to the plate Took a curve ball (Blatters reelection) and knocked a Home run straight out the park
    To the delight and relief of all Football fans

    The American’s have shown the world what Sporting Integrity truly is 😀


  14. Resin_lab_dog says:
    Member: (434 comments)

    June 3, 2015 at 10:14 am

    Allyjambo says:
    Member: (981 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 9:52 am

    high beeswax says:
    Member: (13 comments)

    June 3, 2015 at 9:40 am

    its not all bad news down edi drive….. if trfc shift 25k season tickets for NEXT season they will be able to pay off the £ 9.5m of loans they needed to finnish 15th and exit three cups LAST season.

    OUCH….. they definately need ‘ the worlds greatest interim chairman of a football club’ in there…..
    ____________________________________-

    And the June salaries (reduced though they may be) and other running costs and bills will, in all probability, have to be met from the ST income, or from even more loans. And there lies yet another quandary for the board, do they encourage June sales of STs with some quick marquee signings, and add to the salary costs for June and July, or do they hang fire to give their finances a bit of a breathing space?

    ______________________________________________

    Don’t the Directors run a ‘wrongful trading’ risk if they draw down on the ST income before the fixtures have actually been played, since they still have a ‘going concern’ notice on their accounts?
    ____________________

    That thought did cross my mind, or that it just isn’t allowed, which is why I included the possibility of more loans. Regardless, though, a good uptake of STs might encourage the 3bears, or King, to put up another loan, while poor sales…

    Which is why the absence of ‘good news’, and the non-announcement of ST sales, is so surprising. Good ST (and soon) sales = (limited) security/confidence for more directors’ loans, while poor (and slow) sales = ????


  15. Danish Pastry says:
    Blog Writer: (1206 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 10:18 am

    Accomodation with Ashley, if still achievable, must be more and more likely. A bitter pill for some but surely he offers a secure future, even if toned down triumphalism for the masses. Otherwise they need to start FC Rangers of Glasgow, as they should have in 2012.

    ==============================================

    I can’t see that Ashley has any interest in crashing the bus – or being seen to crash the bus – either financially and reputationally – but at the same time there is precious little security left for him to lend against – and Ashley doesn’t appear to do unsecured – and he can’t increase his shareholding – can he SFA ?

    So if you were looking for an escape hatch – the only one is hocking future ST revenue to get out of the immediate tier-two hole – but don’t mention Ticketus – this is entirely, totally, completely, emphatically different. It would not be beyond the realms of imagination that King produces an anonymous consortium of foreign investing gentlemen, whose identities are known only to the SFA (think Margarita, Blue Pitch) from nowhere to fulfil his “I will provide 50% of investment” – with the emphasis on ‘provide – not invest personally. Then King would call on the three bears to produce matching investment in real money. This off-shore, tax-havened consortium, let’s call it SHAM Holdings, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Ashley and in fact puts his nose right out of joint – isn’t that right Mike? The numbers could work – but rely on rapprochement between King and Ashley – they do have some common goals and pragmatism may rule the day. Although Ashley has already made it clear who’s in charge. And the plan would also rely on a degree of business and football professionalism at Ibrox that hasn’t been there since God was a boy – re-enter Llambias and Leach – not connected to the consortium of course – just fulfilling the first tranche agreement – a strange coincidence, but King is reluctantly honouring a deal entered into by others – he has no dignified alternative – his QCs have finally told him – and no pissing about this time people – L&L’s first job – purge the place of numpty RRM and expensive hangers on. They could do worse than read Pritchett’s analysis – http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2012/10/08/what-can-we-learn-from-the-financial-meltdown-of-glasgow-rangers-fc/

    All just pure, idle speculation you understand, absolutely no basis in fact.


  16. Well you’d imagine the situation at Ibrox is parlous with promotion missed, sticking plaster loans, onerous contracts, restricted retail income, a mass exodus of players, etc,. But no! How can it be with this news:

    Rangers have failed in an ambitious move to secure Vitor Pereira, the Portuguese coach, as their next manager.
    The Ibrox club were in advanced talks with the 46-year-old who was prepared to leave Olympiakos, the Greek club, before changing his mind and ending the negotiations. The talks broke down last month and, with Rangers condemned to another season in the SPFL Championship, he is no longer a contender.

    That is Vitor Pereira who has just won the Greek League and Cup double and is now preparing for his first Champions League campaign (directly in the group stage) with Olympiakos having become manager in January this year.

    That one.

    On an entirely unrelated note, are the Season Tickets going on sale soon?


  17. y4rmy says:
    Member: (57 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 11:26 am

    The talks broke down last month and, with Rangers condemned to another season in the SPFL Championship, he is no longer a contender.

    =====================================================

    Was Vitor sold the Champions League Hover Pitch dream which seemed less atractive to him after the 6-1, tier two reality hit “last month”. 🙂


  18. tcup 2012 says:
    June 3, 2015 at 10:44 am

    1 thing that has changed for me over the last week or so

    Is a new found respect for the American’s (notice not yanks anymore)
    Can now even forgive them for not knowing the name of the beautiful game
    Sock wearer or something I think they call it ?

    For all the shouting/posturing UEFA/EFA etc have done
    Its the American’s who have took action…
    The American’s have shown the world what Sporting Integrity truly is ?
    ————————————————————
    Thay have certainly done football a favour by ousting Blatter, and bravo for that.

    I suspect that the opportunity to tweak Russia’s nose and threaten to take their world cup away will have also featured in their calculations though.

    And just read this in today’s Independent online
    “Speaking to the Today programme, Dyke explained the reason England would not be bidding for the 2022 tournament.

    “I think it would be pretty certain it wouldn’t come to Europe – you wouldn’t have two successive World Cups in Europe.

    “So I would say it would be most likely to go to America, who were the runners up.”


  19. “before changing his mind and ending the negotiations.”

    I do that with those cold calls too.


  20. Great Blatter is off but can’t help thinking same trough different noses.Time will tell.


  21. I suspect that the opportunity to tweak Russia’s nose and threaten to take their world cup away will have also featured in their calculations though.

    Perhaps, but it’s worth noting that the investigative journalist Andrew Jennings says he was first contacted by the FBI in 2009. That’s well before the winning bids for 2018/2022 were announced.


  22. coineanachantaighe says:
    Member: (70 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 10:56 am

    “BTW the obvious wrong one was Churchill and the statement that he never won an election until becoming prime minister at 62”
    ——————————————–
    Yes fact checking is fun. 😀

    Winston Churchill became Member of Parliament for Dundee in a by-election in 1908, soon after losing his Manchester North West seat, and retained the seat until 1922. He was to “move around a bit” regarding constituencies, and parties until-
    Churchill became Prime Minister of a national government on Friday 10 May 1940 ( the same day Hitler invaded France and the Low Countries). He was 65-years-old when he took office. He would be 66 on his birthday on 30th November 1940
    :irony:


  23. mcfc says:
    June 3, 2015 at 11:05 am

    Like my musings yesterday this is all cloak and dagger stuff and given past goings on down Ibrox way I am sure some ridiculous financial arrangement may be the the order of the day.

    However football is a simple game and running clubs should also be a relatively simple affair.

    All King et al need to do is introduce a bit of austerity but give the Bears something to believe in and then use the income generation that all other clubs bar Celtic can only dream off and a bit of ‘soft’ investment money to sort out a team capable of getting back into the Premiership next year.

    If the likes of Hearts can romp it with their finances and teams likes Dundee and Hamilton can put up a fair showing it should be a skoosh to a group of determined RRM millionaires.

    It is the belief that just because they have a large fan base they are a Billy Big Baws club on the world stage that may yet be the death of them.

    It still has Leeds Utd written all over it.


  24. BBC
    Blatter exit ‘a huge step’ – Regan
    Sepp Blatter’s resignation as president of Fifa is welcomed by Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan.
    ,,,,,,,

    If only it said…………

    Regan exit ‘a huge step’ – Blatter
    Stewart Regan`s resignation as Chief Executive of SFA is welcomed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter


  25. _________________________________________________________________________________
    Don’t the Directors run a ‘wrongful trading’ risk if they draw down on the ST income before the fixtures have actually been played, since they still have a ‘going concern’ notice on their accounts?
    _________________________________________________________________________________

    Remember last year, around this time, when many (including PMG) were stating that Deloittes would be insisting that season ticket money’s should be ring fenced to ensure that funds were available to meet their playing commitments?

    That never happened. Rangers announced in mid-June 2014 that they had sold around 17,000 tickets, so maybe close to 20,000 by 30th June. That should have resulted in close to £5-6 million sitting in the bank at the end of the financial year.

    The 2014 accounts revealed that, net of cash held by Rangers retail, there was only £1.5 million available. The rest had been used to meet operating expenses between April and June.

    They managed to make it through to September when they had a share issue that only raised around £3.5 million and then Mike Ashley met the funding needs with his series of revolving credit facilities that grew to £5 million.

    Then the 3 Bears stumped up 2 lots of £1.5 million according to Paul Murray followed by a more recent £1.5 million from Dave King.

    During the year, they did manage to pay off the Letham and Easdale loans but they had to flog their only player worth anything, Lewis Mcleod, at the start of the January transfer window.

    If we add up all those share issues and loans, thats around £13 million of funding required in excess of cash generated from operations.

    No other Scottish football club/company comes close to operating in this manner. Surely the SFA/SPFL must demand to see a proper business and funding plan for the coming season, before they allow Rangers to embark on their 2015/16 journey.


  26. Rangers route into the top league is simple. They do a Gretna (What, again?).

    They should really have done this from day one – mix promising youngsters with the best players from the division you’re currently in. Progress with the minimum of spend. I can only think of one example of them doing this, and that was the signing of Clark. Instead, they poured away millions on 5 figure weekly salaries for the likes of McCulloch etc. Guys who, whilst giving the faithful a notion that they were still ‘Rangers’, collected ever expanding wages for ever diminishing returns. Giving a guy in his mid thirties wages that would increase in each division, where his annually diminishing powers would come up against better players each season? And they wonder why they’re running on fumes?

    Now is the time to actually do what they should have done in the first place. They’re saving a fortune on the players that are finally being let go. Assuming that there’s actually any money in the kitty, then they should be signing the likes of Gavin Reilly from QoS, Hippolyte (or whatever his name is) from Livi etc. These are the sort of guys who would get them out of the division, rather than expecting Boyd to shift his considerable behind up and down Recreation Park on a wet Monday night in December.

    Whether Rangers fans would accept this perceived fall in quality is another matter….

    In the aftermath of sunday, I must admit to having a little sympathy for the likes of Wallace and Templeton. These were guys who were either Scotland regulars or on the verge of the Scotland squad, and whilst they’ve picked up plenty of money (and it’s at that point that my sympathy starts to waver), they’ve basically killed their careers. Templeton ended his Hearts career scoring against Liverpool in the Europa league – now he’s struggling to even get on the bench for the side comprehensively beaten by the 2nd poorest team in the SPL.

    Even the much chuckled at Ian Black – he was a guy whose career was on an upward spiral, and could have had his pick of English Championship mid-table respectabilities, probably for as much, if not more, than he was on at Ibrox. His career is now pretty much dead – derided as a sunday league hatchet man with a penchant for the bookies.

    And that’s the reality of it – for all the ‘we arra peepil’ big club mentality, their players were playing against part-timers and amateurs. Playing against that week in, week out does not prepare you for well run, full time opposition.


  27. y4rmy says:
    Member: (57 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 11:26 am

    On an entirely unrelated note, are the Season Tickets going on sale soon?

    =========================
    Ah yes, the great 2015/16 Season Ticket mystery! And it truly is a puzzle. This is a club that is absolutely desperate for cash. They now know what league they are playing in next season. Even people as apparently incompetent as the current denizens of the Blue Room must surely have planned for two outcomes, and have priced the Season Tickets in advance for both scenarios.

    So why the delay? Could it be that the Board have been advised that selling STs without a robust plan to finance the club until the end of the season might constitute wrongful trading?

    Maybe the Three Bears are a bit more fastidious about such matters than the King across the water?

    No wonder talks with Ashley are rumoured to be underway. He will extract a heavy price for further assistance, you would think, given the amount of abuse he has received from the King faction over recent months. But that assumes that all the Ashley baiting was a genuine exercise, and not just a smokescreen to cover the reality, which may be that King and Ashley are actually in this together. Which sort of makes sense to me, except that the whole public humiliation of Ashley is totally unnecessary. If Ashley wants to fund RIFC via King as his proxy, isn’t it best just to keep it quiet? There are so many ways of arranging these matters that don’t involve finger pointing and name calling as part of the pantomime.

    If King ever appears to fund the club, no questions will be asked as to where the money came from. Except by SARS, of course, but if the money is actually Ashley’s, then that clears King with SARS.

    I have thought from day one of this saga that something must be going on in the background. All these threats of legal action by Whyte, but never any action, the Blue Pitch and Margarita mystery holdings (wasn’t King going to reveal all?), the mysterious disappearance of Green on a completely phoney pretext, the secret Pinsent Mason report (did that not cost £1m?) the astonishing Wallace 127 day review, Walter’s cameo performance, but always, everpresent almost from the start, Mike Ashley lurking in the shadows. And Ashley could buy and sell the lot of them out of the threepenny bits in his (very large) biscuit tin. What’s really going on here? And don’t ask me, because I haven’t a clue. But it’s not all as it appears, I’m fairly sure of that.


  28. Good Afternoon!

    As big fans of facts, and noted students of what has gone on in our game over the past few years, you may be amused/horrified to read the attached, which includes some absolutely cracking liquidation-denying rhetoric.

    http://whatculture.com/sport/20-reasons-why-celtic-fans-are-jealous-of-rangers.php

    As you may have feared, I have jotted down some thoughts about it. Written from a Celtic perspective, but with some wider observations about the implosion and *cough* continuation of Rangers.

    https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/06/03/click-baiting/

    Enjoy the rest of the day!


  29. neepheidneepheid says:
    Member: (602 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 1:27 pm
    ————————————–

    Troubles me too neepheid.

    It’s the auld adage of ‘follow the money’.

    And a thought that pops up every now and again: how many arms (or legs, or tentacles 😉 !) does an octopus have? ?


  30. y4rmy says:
    Member: (58 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 11:26 am
    Well you’d imagine the situation at Ibrox is parlous with promotion missed, sticking plaster loans, onerous contracts, restricted retail income, a mass exodus of players, etc,. But no! How can it be with this news:

    Rangers have failed in an ambitious move to secure Vitor Pereira, the Portuguese coach, as their next manager.
    ——————————–
    Thanks for posting that gem! I had missed it and almost choked when I read it!

    Surely if talks really *had* been at an “advanced stage” a while back we would have heard about it well before now, given the new regime’s desperate need to be seen to be putting in place a ‘bright new future’ for the Ibrox club?

    Dear me!


  31. ‘No other Scottish football club/company comes close to operating in this manner. Surely the SFA/SPFL must demand to see a proper business and funding plan for the coming season, before they allow Rangers to embark on their 2015/16 journey.’

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Melbournedee.

    Don’t expect much from the SFA. If they past DCK as fit and proper to be a director of a relatively new club then the sky’s the limit.


  32. I think it worth noting the wording of Phil’s revelstion. “Someone from the new regime made contact” with Uncle Mike’s people. It almost seems deliberate (maybe it is just me) that he made no mention of whether it was a lion or a bear, or even if it was on behalf of, or independently of.
    I know a squirrel would “do” a ferret in a square go, but who would come out on top in a bear v lion rammy, behind a tent?
    I seem to recall DCK stated a plan would be announced prior to ST sales, but cant find a link….Did I dream it?


  33. Corrupt officialCorrupt official says:
    Member: (59 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 2:01 pm

    “I seem to recall DCK stated a plan would be announced prior to ST sales, but can’t find a link….Did I dream it?” – no but he did! 😆


  34. wottpi says:
    Member: (627 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 12:27 pm

    Like my musings yesterday this is all cloak and dagger stuff and given past goings on down Ibrox way I am sure some ridiculous financial arrangement may be the the order of the day.

    =====================

    Totally agree – but some people find doing things the simple way like everyone else does not appeal to their sense of superiority – oh – and the demands of onerous commitments can somewhat blunt the edge of their obvious advantages.


  35. How long before Keith Jackson blinks and publishes the “Show Us Your Money” article?


  36. The longer we wait for the announcement that season tickets are on sale the more I think that DK and the 3B’s are weighing up all the options. And I do mean ALL the options.

    Of course the 3B’s may be weighing up their position entirely independently of the King.


  37. I laughed at this tweet from Phil:

    15m15 minutes ago
    Phil MacGiollaBhain ‏@Pmacgiollabhain
    There is now a full Stenography Warning in place for the Sevco manager coverage.
    Please take care.
    It is, after all, the Ticket season…


  38. tcup 2012 says:
    Member: (227 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 10:44 am
    __________________________________________________________________________

    American sport can at times be a bit too corporate for my taste but there is no doubt it’s impressively administered and governed. It’s not without its own scandals (involving players, owners and clubs) but they do have a structure in place that encourages competition even with the vast sums of money involved. No relegation and a franchise system help too.

    I applaud the US prosecutors investigation into FIFA and I’d like to see a little less glee from the ‘Europeans’ as they have done nothing of any great substance for decades to bring FIFA to task. I’d imagine a grubby power struggle will ensue as various parties make a grab for power.

    There is a fantastic documentary that came out last year called ‘The Battered Bastards of Baseball’. Set in the 1970s it’s about the only independent baseball team at that time. They were called the Portland Mavericks and you don’t have to be a fan of the sport to enjoy the movie. If you like the thought of a small club taking on the establishment and doing so on their own terms then this film might interest you. It’s a true story that, as they say, you couldn’t make up.


  39. Ouch!

    Slovenia manager Srečko Katanec on not picking Haris Vuckic,

    “Haris played for Rangers in the second division in Scotland.

    I was disappointed, not just with him, but with the quality of the league he was playing in.

    I would have thought Rangers would have had a better team.”

    http://www.talkingbaws.com/2015/06/03/slovenia-boss-tells-haris-vuckic-rangers-arent-good-enough-to-earn-him-national-spot/

    Bang goes the friendly with the Slovenian giants (population 1,988,292, July 2014 est.)

    https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/si.html


  40. mcfc says:
    Member: (1325 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 2:56 pm

    Ouch!

    Slovenia manager Srečko Katanec on not picking Haris Vuckic,

    “Haris played for Rangers in the second division in Scotland.

    I was disappointed, not just with him, but with the quality of the league he was playing in.

    I would have thought Rangers would have had a better team.”
    http://www.talkingbaws.com/2015/06/03/slovenia-boss-tells-haris-vuckic-rangers-arent-good-enough-to-earn-him-national-spot/

    ________________________________________________

    Ooft… full welly, right between the legs there. “Stretcher Bearers!” 😆


  41. causaludendi says:
    Member: (73 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    Corrupt officialCorrupt official says:
    Member: (59 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 2:01 pm

    “I seem to recall DCK stated “… Buzzzz!

    ______________________________________________

    …Interruption for deviation there… (in the manner of a popular radio 4 comedy panel show)

    “How could anyone still lend any credence to anything that man uttered?”


  42. Tincks says:
    Member: (114 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 2:23 pm

    The longer we wait for the announcement that season tickets are on sale the more I think that DK and the 3B’s are weighing up all the options. And I do mean ALL the options.

    =============================================

    Can’t help feel the EGM will be the catalyst for some serious developments – but can’t begin to predict how it will play out – everyone is just waiting for King to show his hand – I assume he will be there as Chairman – is he a dead-eyed bluffer or a dead-in-the-water delusionist? Roll-up, Roll-up, get your tickets at green-enterprises-sarl.fr


  43. DCK has had the ludicrous-o-meter turned up to 11 since the EGM triumph as we all all know there is no 12 to turn it up to and given there is no sensible setting either for the speaker or the listener Mr Traynor (of 140 years of history ended in seven minutes R.I.P. Fame, lest we or they forget ) will earn his money if he produces a workable Baldrickian plan very soon.


  44. melbournedee says:
    Member: (41 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    ______________________________________________

    Was it the Letham loan or RRL cash that allowed them to avoid wrongful trading?
    They did not need ‘cash’ to be available at the time, just ‘access to cash facility whenever the liability would fall due (i.e. in the event of games not going ahead because of insolvency) to avoid this wrongful trading charge:
    Arguing that the ST cash could be repaid from Letham advance or RRL proceeds would allow them to access the ST funds for operating cash over the summer, with the justification that in the event of an insolvency the Letham facility/ RRL cash would be available to repay the ST purchasers when the liability crystallised.

    It is not illegal for a company to obtain credit from a lender in good faith with both parties knowing there is some chance it MIGHT default on if circumstances are unfavourable. Everyone with a mortgage does this.

    But it IS wrongful trading to knowingly take payments for goods or services that they may not be able to supply, and then not be in a position to return the cash in this event because it has been used for something else.


  45. I rang the Ibrox ticket office this morning to enquire about the issuing of 2015/16 season tickets. The assistant informed me that prices would be determined in “the next few days”. He added that, once the existing S.T. holders had been dealt with, all new applicants would be processed “sometime in July”. The poor chap could give me no further information than that.


  46. [ best Geordie accent ]

    Daaay Threee in The Bruther Big House

    Hello housemates. Please all go to the diary room immediately to communicate with the public – and stop evading the cameras. The viewers are channel hopping and the advertisers are checking out their escape clauses. The sponsors have already cancelled next year’s deal. If you fail to complete the task set for you on Sunday, you will all be evicted from The Bruther Big House on live TV. No prizes or D-list media careers will be awarded. Security is monitoring all exits and vibration sensors will detect any tunnelling activity. Please go to the diary room immediately to report the results of your task.

    [ yes, I am bored 😉 ]


  47. Billy Boyce says:
    Member: (52 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 3:47 pm

    I rang the Ibrox ticket office this morning to enquire about the issuing of 2015/16 season tickets. The assistant informed me that prices would be determined in “the next few days”. He added that, once the existing S.T. holders had been dealt with, all new applicants would be processed “sometime in July”. The poor chap could give me no further information than that.

    =========================

    Just who the feck do you think you are – phoning Ibrox – a journalist or something – do you have an NUJ card – no – I thought not – so – just leave it to the professionals – right – bloody amateurs asking bloody questions – they think it’s easy and just pile in with no regard for the dangers – why why why – do you know how dangerous the wrong facts can be in this game – no – you don’t – no – you never thought of that – you just dive in and spoil it for the pros who’ve spent years building contacts and networks – under cover for the next big squirrel – we don’t just make stuff up you know – it’s not all lamb and fine wine you know – well not recently any way.


  48. Warburton for Sevco ! Using my loaf here, best news since sliced bread 😉 it will end up toast.


  49. melbournedee says:
    Member: (41 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 1:16 pm
    _________________________________________________________________________________
    No other Scottish football club/company comes close to operating in this manner. Surely the SFA/SPFL must demand to see a proper business and funding plan for the coming season, before they allow Rangers to embark on their 2015/16 journey.
    =========================================================

    I don’t know for a fact, but I strongly suspect that several SPFL clubs will have empty coffers at certain times over the course of a season (or financial year) & will rely on the goodwill of their bankers (obviously not applicable to RIFC/TRFC!) or the discrete generosity of their directors/fans to keep them going.

    To ask RIFC/TRFC at this juncture to provide financial details when you don’t ask every other club is unfair & biased IMHO.

    Had the SFA/SFL/SPL the Jacob’s to ask Charles Vert to provide a bond of several million quid three years ago, that would have been more appropriate (again IMHO).


  50. From ‘Spiers’ in the Herald

    . . . “We’ve been here before with Rangers – most recently with Craig Whyte and, years before him, with Sir David Murray – and both these episodes of fawning acceptance ended in disaster.”

    Again trying to contort Rangers into being Sevco and make them
    ‘One and the Same’

    As he would say himself, God loves a trier !


  51. Jingso.Jimsie says:
    Member: (47 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 4:47 pm

    I don’t know for a fact, but I strongly suspect that several SPFL clubs will have empty coffers at certain times over the course of a season (or financial year) & will rely on the goodwill of their bankers (obviously not applicable to RIFC/TRFC!) or the discrete generosity of their directors/fans to keep them going.

    To ask RIFC/TRFC at this juncture to provide financial details when you don’t ask every other club is unfair & biased IMHO.

    =================
    I am pretty sure that every other club in the SPFL will have an agreed overdraft facility with their bank, or an agreed facility with a wealthy backer, which gives them the margin to bridge the gap between end of season and the arrival of ST money. So far as I know, TRFC is the only club in senior football which has no such facility, but which spends substantially more than its income and has done since the company was formed. That was fine while there was money in the bank- I believe there was around £20m in the bank after the IPO in December 2012. All that money is long gone, and ever since it has been a tale of emergency loans, and a further share issue, just to keep the ship afloat.

    Every club has to submit its financial details to the SFA as part of the annual licensing process. Don’t ask me how the SFA conclude that TRFC currently meet their criteria for a license. That is a mystery to me.


  52. The RIFC Board has broken its silence.

    http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/9421-directors-voting-advice-for-gm

    Directors’ Voting Advice For General Meeting
    Written by Rangers Football Club

    Directors’ Voting Advice For General Meeting

    Voting recommendations on the resolutions which will be put before shareholders at the General Meeting to be held at Ibrox Stadium on Friday, June 12, can be found by clicking here.

    Rangers International Football Club PLC (the “Company”)

    Directors’ recommendation to the Company’s shareholders on Ordinary Resolutions 1 and 2 to be put to the General Meeting of the Company on Friday 12th June 2015

    Shareholders will be aware that MASH Holdings Limited (MASH) has requisitioned a General Meeting of the Company (GM) which is to take place at Ibrox Stadium at 10.30 a.m. on Friday 12 June 2015.

    Two Resolutions will be put to the GM.

    Ordinary Resolution 1
    The first Resolution has been suggested by MASH. It seeks shareholders’ support for the principle that the Rangers Football Club Limited (Club), a subsidiary of the Company, is released from the Facility arrangements between the Club and SportsDirect.com Retail Limited (Sports Direct) through the Directors of the Company (Directors) resolving to procure the repayment in full of the loan of £5 million (Facility) owed by the Club to Sports Direct as soon as possible after the passing of this Resolution.

    The Company has taken advice from Senior Queen’s Counsel on the terms of this Resolution and been advised that it would not, in any way, oblige the Directors legally. Given that is the case, the Directors are puzzled why MASH has insisted on the Company incurring the expense of calling and holding the GM. The Directors do not consider that this approach is in the best interests of the shareholders as a whole. The Directors have asked MASH if it wants to be represented at the GM to explain its position. The Directors understand MASH is considering whether to send a statement to shareholders.

    MASH is the ultimate parent company of Sports Direct. It seems to the Directors that Sports Direct no longer wishes to make the Facility available to the Club and that MASH has put ordinary resolution 1 to the GM to assist Sports Direct in this regard. It is not clear to the Directors why this would be in the Company or its shareholders’ interests.

    MASH’s resolution does set out certain effects that would occur on the release of the securities granted pursuant to the Facility. These will occur whenever the Facility is repaid and the Directors do not consider that, at this time, the repayment of £5 million to Sports Direct is the best use of the Company’s resources. The Directors are restricted in what they can say about Rangers Retail Limited (RRL) and have been cautioned about breaching confidentiality provisions. The Directors do not believe the transfer back to the Club of a 26% interest in RRL will serve to resolve the issues which the Directors consider have to be addressed.

    There are a number of steps required to rebuild the Company and the Club and all of these require resource. The Directors will keep these issues under continuous review and if, exercising their skill, care and judgement, the Directors determine that it is desirable for the Club to repay the Facility and this will assist with the overall arrangements between the Club, MASH and Sports Direct the Directors will take appropriate action. Such a decision will, however, be based solely on what is in the best interests of the Company and the Club and will not be unduly influenced by the interests of a single shareholder. The MASH facility is just one element of a series of contracts which have been put in place between MASH, Sports Direct and related entities and the Club. The Directors believe that all of these arrangements require to be addressed collectively. It would be disadvantageous for the Club and the Company to be dealing with such arrangements piecemeal and on terms dictated by MASH.

    The Directors accordingly recommend voting Against Resolution 1.

    Ordinary Resolution 2
    The second Resolution has been suggested by your Board. It has been suggested because a meeting has been requisitioned and a Resolution tabled by MASH. There is therefore no perceptible increase in costs to the Company in your Board also putting forward a Resolution to the GM.

    The Directors are concerned with the continued and dramatic reduction in income generated by retail operations. The Directors are aware that many supporters of the Club will not purchase Club merchandise from Sports Direct because they do not believe the current contractual arrangements between the Club and Sports Direct adequately reward the Club. The Directors understand the strength of feeling on this issue and the adverse impact it has had on sales of merchandise. The Directors are firmly of the view that the best interests of both the Club and Sports Direct require them to engage with supporters and to restructure the existing contractual engagements in a manner which is clear, transparent and fully accountable to those who will be the purchasers of the Club’s merchandise. In that way, sales will be maximised and both the Club and Sports Direct will benefit.

    The Directors very much want to improve relations with Sports Direct and have made that clear to Sports Direct’s senior executives, however, this has to proceed on the basis of mutual understanding, respect and reward. In the Director’s view, if matters continue as they stand, this will not be to the commercial advantage of either the Club or Sports Direct.

    The Directors therefore ask shareholders to indicate their support for the Directors’ analysis of what will deliver best value for Sports Direct and the Club by voting For Resolution 2


  53. T’Rangers board advice to shareholders

    Vote against Ashley’s resolution

    Vote for the Boards counter resolution

    http://rangersinternationalfootballclub.com/images/staticcontent/documents/Directors_%20Statement_030615.pdf

    It is however interesting that resolution 1 seems to be solely concerned with the £5m loan and there is no mention of Ashley’s other beefs seeking clarification of matters involving the lack of a Nomad and a public listing of shares.

    Also note the following

    “The MASH facility is just one element of a series of contracts which have been put in
    place between MASH, Sports Direct and RELATED ENTITIES and the Club.”

    I wonder how many related entities there are and how much they are skimming off the top 🙂


  54. wottpi says: June 3, 2015 at 6:21 pm

    T’Rangers board advice to shareholders

    Vote against Ashley’s resolution

    Vote for the Boards counter resolution
    =============================
    We know that the Board has claimed that it can ignore shareholder wishes.

    Does that apply to Resolution 2 as well as 1?


  55. easyJambo says:
    Member: (633 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 6:19 pm
    The RIFC Board has broken its silence.

    “MASH’s resolution does set out certain effects that would occur on the release of the securities granted pursuant to the Facility. These will occur whenever the Facility is repaid”

    “The Directors are restricted in what they can say about Rangers Retail Limited (RRL) and have been cautioned about breaching confidentiality provisions.”
    ==========================

    Perhaps I’m reading too much into this… but does this mean that anyone buying shares in RIFC would have been unaware of the full details of an agreement entered into by its subsidiary company….given the importance of shirt sales to the income stream of the subsidiary company wouldn’t this be a wee bit naughty ❓


  56. wottpi says:
    Member: (628 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 6:21 pm
    …there is no mention of Ashley’s other beefs seeking clarification of matters involving the lack of a Nomad and a public listing of shares.
    ====================================

    In fairness, those resolutions ask the board for information at the EGM (on the record and probably for future legal reference) rather than for a vote – so no advice today from the board to the voting shareholders. We will have to wait until the glorious 12th to see how information-free the board’s answers are to a public forum – but they will also need to be porkie-free too – remember that L&L may be in the audience with Ashley’s proxy to ask pointed questions – again on the record – in the absence of a functioning MSM.


  57. To be fair to kingco that’s a great effort. To be able to type all of that whilst your thumbs and most other extremities are caught soundly in a vice is to be applauded.

    Seriously, when did you last hear a mouse in some moggie’s jaws saying “here, I think we should renegotiate on the basis of trust and mutual respect?”


  58. I’m trying to unscramble the old brain after reading the TRFCL advice to shareholders, when EJ hits us with a double whammy – the DCK consolidated accounts.

    EJ you said not long ago that you learned everything you know about accounting from what you read on here. You are one quick learner!

    By the way, isn’t the club these days THE Rangers Football Club Ltd. – TRFCL, with the new holding company RIFCplc which never existed for the old incorporated club (now approaching dissolution)? If so, they’re blowing more smoke around us.


  59. easyJambo says:
    Member: (633 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 7:01 pm
    Here’s a link to a condensed set of Micromega accounts for the year to March 2015. (18.8 Rand to the Pound)

    It may give an indication of King’s wealth or income.

    ========================

    What’s your opinion EJ? I’d accept that. Not being lazy or anything. Just ignorant.


  60. Why would they ask the shareholders to vote against giving mike back his 5 mill loan.If they give him back his money they get back Edminson house the carpark and murray park.
    Do they not want to give him back his money incase they get everything back and don’t have the money to run these facilities


  61. So Resolution 2 is a vote on whether or not to ask Ashley if he will re-negotiate the retail deal. But of course they already had an ‘amicable’ meeting for this very reason by which we deduce that there was not a favourable outcome.

    Here’s a thought: maybe you dolts shouldn’t have spent the past 12 months calling him every name under the sun and making it personal.


  62. Cluster One says:
    Member: (170 comments)
    June 3, 2015 at 8:59 pm
    Why would they ask the shareholders to vote against giving mike back his 5 mill loan.If they give him back his money they get back Edminson house the carpark and murray park.
    Do they not want to give him back his money incase they get everything back and don’t have the money to run these facilities
    ==========
    They currently run/pay for these facilities…MA only has security over them.

    The £5m…could be they don’t have the readies…could be it genuinely doesn’t benefit them, given the onerous nature of the RR deal, and as the loan has no term why put the money in MA’s account when it could be (figuratively in this case 😈 ) in their own ❓


  63. parttimearab says:
    Member: (347 comments)

    June 3, 2015 at 9:11 pm
    They currently run/pay for these facilities…MA only has security over them.
    ——————
    cheers for clarification


  64. Cluster One – it may be of course that if the £5 million is paid out then there will be no money to run them even if that gets them the Rangers Retail Profit which goes to Mash as long as the money is outstanding. This all a bit kobiyashi maru if you ask me


  65. Quick scan of those accounts,I’d say outstanding growth, great divi. Was I a shareholder I’d be pleased.
    Therefore what on earth’s his problem?
    Does he actually have better aquisstions lined up and has now got cold feet? Or developed severe unrangersness.
    Me baffeled.


  66. From the Beano and the BBCwebsite

    The Rangers board have urged shareholders to reject Mike Ashley’s demand for his £5m loan to be repaid.
    ———————–
    Need to ask Dr Poon was this loan an EBT, only asking as I would love a loan were me and my family can say it is not in our best interest to repay it until it suits us.
    Off to the bank tomorrow to apply for a loan, wish me luck.


  67. Another question,sorry.
    If the board don’t pay back the £5 mill,and Ashley holds security over the carpark,Edminson house and murray park.And it goes to court to be settled will these security’s be frozen and not be able to be used until the court case is finished.Also how will that go with the security over the badges,and trademarks could they be frozen and not used until court case is finished 😕


  68. Re. world cup bidding, FIFA scandal, the Telegraph online nearly gets it right, it says

    “Whilst we’re waiting on the Blazer story to develop further, the distinctly more aesthetically pleasing David Beckham very recently had this to say about the FIFA scandal.

    “Some of the things that we now know happened were despicable, unacceptable and awful for the game that we love so much. Football is not owned by a few individuals at the top, it belongs to the millions of people around the world who love this sport. It is time for FIFA to change and we should all welcome it.

    “Football belongs to the millions of people around the world”… that could be something taken straight out of The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists (if it was more about football and less about working class life, of course), what a man.”

    [Well done Telegraph! Yes, that is the point, football is the world’s game, it doesn’t belong to FIFA executives, or those who consider themselves higher and mightier than the rest of humanity. Plus bonus points for a Telegraph hack mentioning The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists. But then it goes on…]

    “Beckham was obviously left publicly embarrassed, along with the Prime Minister and the Prince of Wales, by England’s disastrous bid to hold the the 2018 World Cup.”

    Ah well. The “few individuals at the top” are back already.


  69. I wouldnt be a bit surprised if the real reason they dont want to pay £5m to get their securities back is that it wouldn`t make any difference to the amount of money they receive from SD
    i.e.
    SD can control the paper profit of RR by massaging inter co charges with other SD cos and Depts


  70. castaway says: June 3, 2015 at 8:25 pm

    What’s your opinion EJ? I’d accept that. Not being lazy or anything. Just ignorant.
    =================
    Basic information gives us a Profit of 126M Rand or £6.7M for the year.

    Assets total 980M Rand or £52M, although very little of that (approx. £3M) represents physical assets. Most assets are described as “intangible”, Cash, or amounts due by other companies.

    Their liabilities appear to be relatively low.

    I’ve been trying to establish DCK’s shareholding from previous accounts. He seems to have held an interest in 74% of the shares just over a year ago, but looks to have sold or transferred 11% to a couple of fellow directors before the 2014 accounts were issued, so he is down to 63% to the best of my knowledge. His holding may have gone up or down in the last year.

    The declared dividend of 35 cents per share would net DCK around 25M Rand or £1.34M (less tax, of course 😈 ) at last year’s shareholding.

    Today’s quoted price for the shares is 1760 Rand, making the company worth 2.023 Billion Rand or £108M. If DCK owns 63%, then his interest is worth £68M. I have no idea how many other companies he is involved with, but my understanding is that Micromega is the biggest.

    Note: Don’t take the above as fact. It is only my (untrained) interpretation of the accounts.

Comments are closed.