Rangers Trust share purchase dents board hopes

The Rangers Supporters Trust has dented the Ibrox board’s hopes of winning next month’s crucial General Meeting vote after buying up a chunk of shares previously controlled by Sandy Easdale.

Interim chairman Paul Murray said the recovery process 'would take time'. Picture: John Devlin

The fan-ownership campaign group announced it had purchased an extra 450,000 shares from Beaufort Nominees.

Easdale – whose brother James is among four directors who face being forced out of the Blue Room if Dave King’s bid for power proves successful at the Ibrox vote on 6 March – owns 6.45 per cent of the Glasgow giant. But the bus tycoon – who sits as chairman of Rangers’ football board – also held proxies for another 19.7 per cent, including those belonging to Beaufort.

King needs to win a majority vote if he is to replace current directors David Somers, James Easdale, Derek Llambias and Barry Leach with former Blue Knight Paul Murray and ex- Tennent’s Brewery boss John Gilligan.

The RST hope their move will now speed up the South Africa-based millonaire’s march to power. Their latest purchase made through their Buy Rangers scheme means they now own 1,725,009 shares – or 2.12 per cent of the club. They also hold another 1.7 per cent in proxies.