Rangers administration: Ticketus decision is key, says Paul Murray

THE bidding process for control of Rangers should take a step forward this afternoon when legal guidance on the binding nature of the club’s controversial season ticket deal with Ticketus is received.

Lord Hodge is expected to deliver his findings at the Court of Session in Edinburgh at 2pm, having considered submissions from solicitors representing Rangers’ administrators Duff and Phelps as well as Ticketus.

Duff and Phelps raised the court action in a bid to discover whether the £24 million deal, which saw discredited Rangers owner Craig Whyte sell future season ticket sales to Ticketus in order to fund his takeover of the club last May, can be breached.

At least two of the four indicative bids lodged with Duff and Phelps for Rangers are conditional on not being tied to the Ticketus deal. The Blue Knights consortium, led by former Rangers director Paul Murray and backed by all three of the club’s main supporters’ groups, includes Ticketus in what they believe offers the best route out of administration for the stricken Scottish champions.

Murray told The Scotsman last night that he hopes Lord Hodge’s ruling will help progress a situation which is currently in a state of limbo.

“It’s obviously key, if some bidders have made their bids conditional on that judgment,” said Murray. “It will be interesting to see how they react, depending on what the judge says.

“Ticketus are part of our bid and any agreement with them is obviously dependent on their legal position. So we have to clarify what that is first of all before we finalise any terms with them.

“In my judgment, if they [Ticketus] are an unsecured creditor, probably the biggest unsecured creditor until the EBT case is determined, even bigger than HMRC, then they are obviously going to have a seat at the table. They are going to be the main creditor voting on a CVA [Company Voluntary Agreement].

“From our point of view, a CVA is far and away the preference here in terms of the exit from administration, as opposed to liquidation. So, if they are an unsecured creditor, then I think working with them in partnership is the most effective way of exiting administration via CVA. But, obviously, the terms have to be right for Rangers. The terms will have to reflect Ticketus’ position.”

Murray held further talks with Duff and Phelps at the start of the week, following the formal lodging of the Blue Knights indicative bid last Friday. Sale Sharks rugby club owner Brian Kennedy was in Glasgow later in the week as the serious nature of what he has claimed is a “reluctant bid” became apparent. Murray continues to welcome Kennedy’s interest in Rangers.

“Brian Kennedy is a good, well-intentioned guy,” added Murray. “He is a successful businessman. All I want to achieve personally is for the club to be in safe hands, with people who have its best interests at heart. We have that and I’m sure Brian does as well. You never know, maybe there is scope to work together.

“We had the conversations required with the administrators as part of our bid earlier in the week. Brian Kennedy has done the same since. I assume the others are doing it as well. Beyond that, we haven’t got much clarity as to what the next step is.”

Chicago-based consortium Club 9 Sports were the third party to make a bid last Friday, while a thus far unnamed fourth British-based bid is understood to have been received by the administrators this week.