Rangers takeover: Bill Miller may yet win the day with ‘newco’ bid

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster has warned prospective Rangers owner Bill Miller that there can be no guarantee provided that the Ibrox club will start next season in Scottish football’s top flight without any points deduction or other sanctions being imposed.

But speaking after today’s SPL general meeting at Hampden, where it was unanimously agreed to postpone a vote on new financial fair play proposals until next Monday, Doncaster also conceded the possibility of a newly constituted Rangers under Miller being accepted without punishment within the next two weeks. If American tow-truck millionaire Miller’s £11.2 million bid for Rangers is completed before 14 May, when the proposed regulations and penalties for ‘newco’ clubs involved in the transfer of an SPL share would come into force, then the application would be considered by Doncaster and his five fellow SPL board members.

Doncaster pointed out that several English clubs have gone down the ‘newco’ route following administration in recent times without sustaining any punishment from the football authorities.

“While the ‘newco’ is a new concept in Scotland – I’m not aware that there ever has been one in Scottish football – it’s relatively commonplace elsewhere,” said Doncaster. “You may not be aware that, for example, Plymouth Argyle and Crystal Palace were also newcos when they came out of administration and they emerged without any sanction at all.

“If there were to be a deal between the Rangers administrators and any bidder who favoured the newco route, then the process would be that an application would be received by the SPL board for full transfer of the SPL share to the newco and the current rules allow the SPL board to deal with that at their discretion. It is totally at the board’s discretion and all votes on the board are based on a straightforward majority”.

Doncaster is joined on the SPL board by his chairman Ralph Topping, Celtic director Eric Riley, Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson, Motherwell vice-chairman Derek Weir and St Johnstone chairman Steven Brown. In the event of a tied vote of 3-3 on any issue, Topping would have a casting vote.

Miller’s complex bid, which involves placing part of Rangers into an “incubator” company while a Company Voluntary Arrangement process is used to address their debts, is dependent on being allowed to start next season without any points deduction or financial sanctions from the SFA or SPL. Rangers are in the process of appealing last week’s decision by an SFA Judicial Panel to impose a 12-month transfer embargo on the club.

Yesterday’s meeting of all 12 SPL clubs was due to consider the possibility of a range of financial fair play sanctions. They include ten-point deductions and loss of 75 per cent in SPL income for two years for any ‘newco’ club which retains SPL status.

Miller has made it clear he will withdraw his bid for Rangers unless he receives “written assurances” from both the SPL and SFA that the Ibrox club can begin the 2012-13 campaign with a clean slate.

Doncaster, who has been involved in ongoing discussions with Rangers’ administrators Duff and Phelps as well as the prospective new owners of the club, made it clear Miller will receive no such guaranteed comfort from the SPL.

“I’m not going to go into the detail of what conversations we will have [with Bill Miller] but certainly we aren’t in a position to offer any assurances to anyone,” said Doncaster.

“The process will be that there will be a preferred bidder and that will enable us to get into further conversation with whoever that is.

“At that stage, we can have franker conversations. I’m not going to make any predictions about a preferred bidder being in place next week at Rangers. Those discussions are ongoing. That’s Duff & Phelps’ role.

“Our role is to have discussions with the preferred bidder once they are put in front of us. The fact the administrators welcomed today’s adjournment demonstrates that everyone believes this was the right course of action. It was proposed by one of our members and everyone else agreed that was the right way to deal with this.

“Resolution 1 was about going into administration and that wouldn’t be retrospective. It would apply to any future administration and that could lead to further penalties. Resolution 2a and 2b, which were penalties which would apply to transfer of the share to a newco, would apply to any transfer made after May 13.”

Rangers manager Ally McCoist has spoken of a ‘newco’ Rangers dropping down to the Third Division as perhaps being morally correct if the club do go into liquidation.

Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston was asked what effect such a scenario would have on SPL clubs as he left Hampden following the meeting.

Johnston told STV: “There are conflicting issues of sporting integrity and commercial expediency. It’s a question of trying to find a balance.

“Whatever the outcome is, I don’t think everybody will be happy with it.”