In full: Craig Whyte’s open letter to Rangers supporters

To all Rangers supporters,

I write to you today to address a number of key issues facing the Club.

First, I would like to address specifically the latest attempt to undermine Rangers in today’s Daily Record which devotes five pages to trashing our efforts to get this Club back on a sensible financial footing.

In the most lurid terms, the Record accuses the Club’s management and, specifically me, of using supporters’ money to help fund the buy-out of Rangers. Not true.

The Club is accused of not paying £5million in VAT. Not true.

I can categorically assure supporters that when I launched a takeover bid for the Club it was funded entirely from one of my companies and that was demonstrated clearly to the satisfaction of the previous owner, Lloyds Banking Group and professional advisers.

What is true is that Rangers, like many other clubs, has a financing arrangement in place with a company called Ticketus which enables the Club to receive revenue from a portion of season ticket sales in advance.

There is nothing unusual or untoward in this arrangement which was put in place at the Club long before my takeover last year and was used by the previous management. For members of that regime to criticise the use of a scheme they put in place is, frankly, outrageous.

This is a perfectly straightforward way of raising working capital for the Club. Money from season ticket sales goes directly to the Club and is used for the Club’s operations and that remains the case. In effect, all this financing arrangement does is release the revenue to the Club earlier.

The Daily Record’s approach to this story sought to distort and dramatise the matter. I for one will not be reading or buying the Daily Record again and I’m sure many other Rangers fans will share my disgust at yet another smear on this football club.

It was, predictably, fuelled by accusations of former board members of the Club. I simply ask Rangers fans what these men did for Rangers in the Club’s hour of need? They were all talk and no action and presided over the Club as it careered to the brink of financial collapse.

The overarching issue that affects Rangers financially is the HMRC tax tribunal, which has been hanging over the Club for many years and long before I became chairman. As I have said many times before, the sooner that is resolved the better.

In terms of the playing squad, you may know the Club has agreed a fee with Everton for the transfer of Nikica Jelavic. We wish the player well and thank him for his contribution to Rangers.

The reality of Jelavic’s departure is two-fold. One, the player wanted to leave and there is no point in trying to keep a player who no longer wants to be at Ibrox. Two, the Club is simply not in a financial position to turn down offers for players which give the Club a good return on its original investment.

Investment in the playing squad has been a thorny issue since I took over the Club in May and is the source of endless debate, much of it ill-informed. I want to set the record straight.

In the summer transfer window last year we conducted 14 different pieces of transfer business, more than any other club in Scotland. This included new signings and improvement to existing contracts with key players, increasing the players’ wage bill significantly. We now have a first team squad of 30 which includes 18 full internationalists.

Admittedly, there were transfer targets we did not secure but that is not uncommon. As chairman, I have supported Ally McCoist in his choice of targets and will continue to do so. The timing of Jelavic’s departure so late in this window is far from ideal and efforts to improve the squad will continue until the transfer window closes.

That said, we must be realistic. Media coverage of the transfer window has bordered on the hysterical. As it stands at the moment Rangers has operating costs of approximately £45 million a year and revenues of around £35million - not including revenue from possible Champions’ League and Europa League participation.

As we know, European money cannot be taken for granted and it doesn’t take much to work out that without it there is a big financial hole to fill every year - regardless of who owns the Club.

I’ve said many times that in Scottish football we have to move on from this mindset that you have to keep spending more and more money - that’s what got this Club into financial trouble before. We have to live within our means, continue to develop talent and spend wisely.

These are challenging financial times for Rangers - as they are for many other businesses. What I can say to you as a Rangers fan is that everything I will do as chairman will be in the interests of the Club and I thank you for your continued support.

Craig Whyte, Chairman