Rangers administration: Hope that club can extricate itself from Ticketus deal

[ian1964 10,626]

By TOM ENGLISH

Published on Friday 9 March 2012 00:22

 

 

THE infamous deal that Craig Whyte did to sell off vast numbers of seasons tickets for the next three seasons is believed to be close to collapse.

 

 

Whyte lied for months about the fact that he used the £20m plus VAT that he received from Ticketus to pay off Lloyds Banking Group and thereby assume ownership of Rangers. He was exposed some weeks back. Now, it would appear, that the deal is about to unravel in the coming weeks.

 

Sources close to the affair say that, although it is still subject to a court process, they are confident that, in a week or possibly two, it will be revealed that Ticketus no longer have a claim on up to a 100,000 season tickets. It is also believed that the administrators, Duff and Phelps, are hugely confident that deal that incensed the Rangers fans can be undone.

 

Elsewhere, the scramble for missing money continues apace in this Rangers story. When Whyte took over the club, his lawyers, Collyer Bristow, gave Sir David Murray and the independent board headed by then chairman Alastair Johnston, guaranteed undertakings that Whyte had lodged £9m in their accounts as proof of funds. In January of this year, Collyer Bristow, through company partner and Ibrox secretary, Gary Withey, reinforced the undertaking of £9m. Withey has sinced moved on from both the law firm and the football club. There is a dispute now about whether the £9m ever existed. If it did, it certainly does not exist now.

 

The administrators at Rangers are intending to fight Collyer Bristow for these millions. Yesterday, Duff and Phelps managed to arrest £3.6m from the London law firm, £3.6m being the extent of Whyteâ??s supposed £9m commitment. Rangers have competition as they chase the £3.6m, however. The money will be the subject of a four-day trial beginning at the end of the month and itâ??s not just Rangers who are laying a claim to it.

 

Some of the clubâ??s other creditors are looking for a piece of it, including two firms linked to Whyte himself, Merchant Turnaround and Jerome Group Pension Fund.

 

â??We intend to go for as much of the £3.6m as we possibly can,â? said Paul Clark, co-administrator at Rangers.

 

â??Itâ??s going to be too late to save the cuts to the players salaries, but it will mean that thereâ??s more in it for the creditors.â?

 

Whatever portion of the £3.6m goes Rangers way it will merely be shunted into the creditors pot in order to try to exit administration as quickly as possible, but thatâ??s another issue. What has incensed the club is that, over a period of a year, they were given repeated promises that the £9m was sitting in Whyteâ??s lawyers account and it appears it was not.

 

Solicitor firms are not supposed to give undertakings unless they are holding the cash, rather than some of the cash or a promise of the balance. Whatever sum Rangers end up with from the £3.6m, their administrators intend to subtract it from the £9m and then vigorously pursue Collyer Bristow for the balance.

 

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/footba...oyds-1-2162398

[der Berliner 3,568]

Now if that deal is indeed undone, what exactly does that mean for the club, Lloyds, and Ticketus? It seems the money never reached Rangers so any claims of either party is between them, but not Rangers, right?

[gisabeer 409]

craig whyte is on record as saying he has personally guarenteed the deal and that it was no risk with rangers.

 

good luck on that one craigy boy!!!

[BlueMazza 0]

I spoke with our finances guy at work, this is the guy who does due dilligences etc on companies we look to acquire. He's a diehard Ger and very savvy. He's just about doing the bouncy today LOL. I figure if he agrees this sounds good then that's good enough for me!

[A Horse With No Name 0]

craig whyte is on record as saying he has personally guarenteed the deal and that it was no risk with rangers.

 

good luck on that one craigy boy!!!

 

Kind of begs the question as to why Paul Murray has them in the Consortium - can't be as simple as Tom English says...

[der Berliner 3,568]

So essentially, if Rangers can show that the Ticketus deal was a no-goer, Lloyds will keep the money, Ticketus will harrass Whyte (et al) for it and he can simply declare himself bankrupt. That would Ticketus with a 20m odd shortfall and none too happy. Will they want to deal with us again anytime soon (and if so, who does the ticketing)? Even if we blame it on Whyte?

[rbr 1,254]

Why as stated above is PaulMurray even talking with them then , it just gets more confusing by the hour

[der Berliner 3,568]

Why as stated above is PaulMurray even talking with them then , it just gets more confusing by the hour

 

Maybe (!) they have convinced Murray that they will not sue Rangers over the deal, but Whyte & Co., and will be willing to "invest" the money again (assuming that they will take Whyte to the courts for this) into the club? Just as food for thought?

[rbr 1,254]

Thats a massive " maybe " db , cant see it but in this mes you never know , we might even have HMRC as a shirt sponsor lol

[der Berliner 3,568]

Speaking of shirt sponsorship and the way we have gained some "breathing space", we should look for pastures new here and get the "blue" O2 on board here. My working place over here is also called the "Blue Hall" and while there already is one in London (i.e. another "O2 World"), maybe any future owner might look for a deal with O2 and/or the owners of the O2 Worlds and lot of other sports arenas (and teams), the Anschutz Entertainment Group.