Leggat - Rangers Could Be Rescued By Scots Law

[ian1964 10,761]

RANGERS may have found the way to make Craig Whyte responsible for the £24.4m he wheedled from Ticketus against future sales of Ibrox season tickets.

 

 

And the legal loophole seems to be because controversial law firmâ??s Collyer Bristow partner, Gary Withey, may not have been aware of differences in company law between Scotland and England.

 

 

However, amazingly Withey now appears to have gone into hiding. And Collyer Bristow appear to be saying that Withey's role as Rangers company secretary is nothing to do with them.

 

 

That is a matter for the authorities to decide on, but Collyer Bristow are already on the back foot as they await the verdict on a £50m action brought against them by angry investors.

 

 

Regular readers may recall that last week I revealed that lawyers were poring over all the fine print details in the deal which saw conman Whyte buy Rangers for a quid.

 

 

Now I have been told by a senior legal authority that the loophole is in Scottish company law regarding the Financial Assistance process which Whyte used to raise that £24.4m.

 

 

Of course, when Mâ??Learned friends are involved we get bogged down in legalese which confounds the layman. So, for everybodyâ??s benefit, especially mine, Iâ??ll keep it simple, as it was explained to me.

 

 

It has all got something to do with a private company and individual rights. My legal contact says that means Whyte could not sell future season tickets without the consent of the season tickets holders.

 

 

For the deal to have been legal, he would have had to contact almost 40,000 Ibrox season ticket holders, explain what he proposed to doâ?¦.and then get written permission from them all.

 

 

Only the ones who said â??yesâ? could legally have had their future season tickets mortgaged.

 

 

It is also understood that Ticketus have now been told by their English lawyers, who have studied Scots Law, that Financial Assistance should not have been allowed, as Whyte did not have the necessary legal permission from the season ticket holders to mortgage their season tickets.

 

 

The bottom line therefore is, again according to a top legal expert in this field, that if Ticketus want their money back then they will have to chap on Craig Whyteâ??s door to get it.

 

 

Or cut a deal to work with Rangers in the future, based on goodwill and trust, things that Paul Murray can offer, but two qualities Whyte has never heard of, far less has.

 

 

There are of course other debts which Rangers have been landed with from the carnage wreaked upon them by the WHYTE SCANDA and I will address them later this week.

 

 

One word which will recur when I turn my attention to these debts will be, HONOUR!

 

 

Something else Craig Whyte has no knowledge of.

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SOMETIMES the blindingly obvious can escape you. It can take a wee while for the penny to drop.

 

 

Thus has it been with the excellent and in depth interview given to veteran reporter, Ron Scott of the Sunday Post eight days ago by â??Sirâ? Walter Smith.

 

 

The Ibrox icon spoke about his regret at the position Alastair McCoist has been placed in during his first season as manager and how he, Smith, would never have left had he known things were going to turn out this way.

 

 

It took a Paul Murray associate to make the point to me yesterday that when you think about it, Alastair McCoist is indeed, the Lone Ranger. The only man inside the club who speaks for Rangers.

 

 

Thankfully for the legions of Rangers supporters who are worrying about their clubâ??s future future, that task could hardly have fallen on the shoulders of a better, bigger, braver and wiser man.

 

 

â??Sir â?? Walter apart, which of course goes without saying.

 

 

Seriously, Alastair McCoist has risen to the task magnificently and his after-the-match address to the media on Saturday was both pointed and timely. It was also very â??Coisty.â?

 

 

Some folk I have spoken to believe his well worded warning was aimed at Neil Lennon, who has had far too much to say about Rangers. Personally â?? and I stress this is merely my view â?? I think he was taking aim further up the chain of command.

 

 

And not just at those inside Parkhead who are trying to put together some sort of Scottish Premier League Celtic cabal, aimed at inflicting long term damage on Rangers.

 

 

My thoughts appear to have been given extra credence by the Sundayâ??s Mailâ??s exclusive story by the always well informed on Celtic matters, Mark Guidi.

 

 

He revealed that if Rangers are still in administration when the new season starts, there are moves â?? which I believe are inspired by that man with a finger in so many pies, Peter Lawwell â?? to inflict MORE than a ten point penalty on Rangers and to also punish them financially by withholding SPL, sponsorship and Sky money.

 

 

That seemed to be the gist of Markâ??s top notch exclusive.

 

 

As I have frequently pointed out, those who I have been told it is believed Lawwell has taken into the Parkhead tent, include Rod Petrie of Hibs, Stephen Thompson of Dundee United and their ally at Aberdeen, managing director and a man seemingly in thrall to all things Celtic, Duncan Fraser.

 

 

As was the case with â??Sirâ? Walter, Alastair often seems to know whatâ??s going to happen before it does, as he has a grapevine which hums and whistles.

 

 

He knows who are trying to take advantage of Rangers being on the deck, to do more than just administer a good kicking, but to actually strangle the life out of the venerable Ibrox club.

 

 

Alastair McCoist is the man who speaks for Rangers. It is as well for the club that this great Ranger is up to the task.

[BlueMazza 0]

He revealed that if Rangers are still in administration when the new season starts, there are moves – which I believe are inspired by that man with a finger in so many pies, Peter Lawwell – to inflict MORE than a ten point penalty on Rangers and to also punish them financially by withholding SPL, sponsorship and Sky money.

 

RAGE! It won't happen though. Not the point I suppose.

[Bluedell 5,679]

It has all got something to do with a private company and individual rights.

 

We are a public company, not a private one.

 

My legal contact says that means Whyte could not sell future season tickets without the consent of the season tickets holders.

 

For the deal to have been legal, he would have had to contact almost 40,000 Ibrox season ticket holders, explain what he proposed to do….and then get written permission from them all.

 

Only the ones who said “yes” could legally have had their future season tickets mortgaged.

 

Most current season ticket holders have not been offered future years' season tickets, so how can existing ST holders have a say in something that they have not been offered and something that they have not agreed to buy? The club has got no obligation to sell tickets to existing ST holders so I fail to understand this point.

 

 

 

It is also understood that Ticketus have now been told by their English lawyers, who have studied Scots Law, that Financial Assistance should not have been allowed, as Whyte did not have the necessary legal permission from the season ticket holders to mortgage their season tickets.

 

Presumably any agreement drawn up by Ticketus would be under English law and not Scots law?

[CumbernauldGers 0]

Presumably any agreement drawn up by Ticketus would be under English law and not Scots law?

 

I take it we can just ignore this as more rubbish from Leggo then? If so i wish this guy would go away, he talks the most utter rubbish and is never factual about anything.

[Bluedell 5,679]

I take it we can just ignore this as more rubbish from Leggo then? If so i wish this guy would go away, he talks the most utter rubbish and is never factual about anything.

 

He may have good information but tends to spoil it with stuff that is difficult to take seriously. Hopefully he is right about this in principle and he's just got some of the facts wrong, but his scenario seems very unlikely.

[forlanssister 3,114]

We are a public company, not a private one.

 

Yes he's got that bit back to front it can be legitimate in a private company but certainly not in a public company.

 

Presumably any agreement drawn up by Ticketus would be under English law and not Scots law?

 

There may be some mileage in this point but again not quite in the way Leggat means, RFC Group is an English company as is Ticketus while RFC plc is Scottish. IIRC the SPA was done on the basis of English Law at Withey's insistence. One thing for sure is it one almighty f*&king mess.

[calscot 0]

I can't see now the Tickitus deal was legal in any country. How can you buy tickets from a company by giving money to another company that has nothing to do with the company who sells the tickets?

 

To me, the debt should lie with Craig White's company. Whether his company gets the money for the tickets form the fans is another matter.

[gisabeer 409]

when you do purchase a ticket you should be asked if you wish to partake in the ticketus scheme. that is what is being said here. So if it is is the law then the question should be asked to any would be sbs purchaser and if they say no then ticketus are buggered. i think wqe could be quids in here.

[Bluedell 5,679]

There may be some mileage in this point but again not quite in the way Leggat means, RFC Group is an English company as is Ticketus while RFC plc is Scottish. IIRC the SPA was done on the basis of English Law at Withey's insistence. One thing for sure is it one almighty f*&king mess.

 

The country of registration would largely be irrelevant. It'd be any agreement that would dictate the primary law.