Rangers: Club set for £1.5m loan from shareholders

RANGERS are to be given £1.5 million in loans from major shareholders to stave off growing fears over the club’s financial position.

Rangers chief executive Graham Wallace. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Chief executive Graham Wallace is thought to be in advanced talks with majority shareholder Laxey Partners and the Easdale brothers over the sum, which will be paid back in shares next year.

News of the sum arrives amid growing fears that Rangers players and staff were not going to be paid on time, although this has been strenuously denied by the club. An announcement on the stock exchange to be made next week is expected to confirm the news, with the deal on the brink of being formally agreed.

In a statement released this morning, a Rangers spokesman said: “The Board of Rangers notes the press articles this morning and confirms that it is holding discussions with two major shareholders with a view to arranging a loan of up to £1.5m to provide working capital for the Company. Documentation and terms have not been finalised, and a further announcement will be made when appropriate.”

Last year, Brian Stockbridge, the now-departed finance director, claimed Rangers would only have £1m remaining in the bank by April despite raising £22m from an IPO in December 2012.