Rangers crisis: Blue Knights take stock on proposed bid to buy club

PAUL MURRAY was taking stock last night on his proposed bid for Rangers as co-ordinator of the Blue Knights consortium following an extraordinary day of claim and counter-claim over the ability of administration-stricken Ibrox club to remain in existence even in the short-term.

Contacted by The Scotsman, former Rangers director Murray declined to comment on the early evening developments. Key among these was what effectively amounted to a warning from administrators Duff and Phelps that unless his buy-out plans, understood to be the only serious proposals on the horizon, are lodged by tomorrow – a week ahead of their earlier deadline for “indicative first bids” – the administrators would have to implement “very severe cost-cutting measures” that would put the club’s ability to fulfil their remaining fixtures this season in doubt.

“There has been so much going on today, I need to digest it all to get a full picture of where we stand,” said Murray.

Earlier, Murray gave an interview to TalkSport in which he countered claims made in the course of a lengthy statement from Dave King, understood to be part of his Blue Knights consortium, that it was “inevitable” Rangers would suffer liquidation as a consequence of being unable to exit administration through a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA).

“From my point of view and talking to the administrators, I’m certainly not working on the basis that liquidation is inevitable,” Murray said.

“I’m surprised Dave King has actually released that statement, as he certainly didn’t clear it with me. I agree with a lot of what he said, but with regard to liquidation I’m not sure I agree with that.

“It’s a pretty comprehensive statement but Dave lives in South Africa and I think he’s currently in China on business, so he’s a little bit distant from the detail here.”

It was Murray’s intention to submit a ‘conditional offer’ for Rangers by the original deadline set by the administrators of 16 March. What that could entail, with the Ibrox club still awaiting the decision of the first tier tribunal on the outcome of the big tax case that could land them with a £50m bill from HMRC, has not been made clear.

Murray is entitled to be spooked by the pressure being applied by Duff and Phelps for him to act in the next few days in order that they leave the “fabric” of the first team playing squad intact, as he had intimated earlier this week he would prefer to proceed with his bid.

It is unknown exactly how much financial muscle Murray can muster. A figure of £25m has been reported. It is HMRC’s policy not to agree to CVAs with football clubs, which mean they would ordinarily receive only a fraction of the money owed to them as creditors. A CVA can only be obtained if those covered by 75 per cent of the sums owed vote to accept. Losing the big tax case would make HMRC Rangers’ major creditor.

As it stands, with the Ibrox club forced into administration over unpaid taxes of around £15m even before the big tax case judgment has been announced, it is difficult to see precisely how Murray can “work on a CVA proposal as the way forward” with the administrators, as he claimed early yesterday, before timescales were squeezed.

“A CVA is in the best interests of the club and that can change the club,” he said.

“We need to settle our debts but at least that enables the club to emerge out of administration into a new form.

“CVA basically interns the company and the club in its present state and is a negotiated settlement with the creditors that Rangers have got and would enable Rangers to emerge from administration.

“I’m working with administrators flat out on a CVA solution to this particular issue. Any insolvency process is very complicated. The administrators are three weeks into the process and working through some pretty complex legal situations.

“But I’ve met with them twice and they’ve been pretty helpful in terms of giving information.”

Murray might now consider them unhelpful in attempting to force his hand hastily.

There is still the possibility that Brian Kennedy, the owner of Sale Sharks rugby club, could come forward with an offer for the club over the next couple of days. The Scot, who was rebuffed by Hibernian in his first attempt to get involved in Scottish football, has already declared his interest in the Ibrox club and has had discussions with the administrators. But he has said that he would not be interested in becoming part of a consortium, and would step aside if he felt that Murray’s proposal is a better option for the club. “But if they are not able to do so, then that is possibly where we might have an interest,” he has said.