Rangers icon Walter Smith suing businessman for £320,000

Rangers legend Walter Smith is seeking £320,000 from a businessman who invested money on his behalf during the time he was managing Everton.

The former Scotland boss has instructed lawyers to go to Scotland’s highest civil court in a bid to recover the cash from a man called Gareth Alexander.

The 69-year-old coach is suing Mr Alexander over sums which were paid into a pension fund in the 1990s.

Mr Smith’s legal team will argue their case against Mr Alexander, who lives in Harpenden, Herts, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh later this month.

Former Rangers boss Walter Smith. Picture: SNS

Their client was also originally suing another financial advisor called Neil Caisley in the action. However, Mr Caisley, also of Herts, is not contesting the action.

Mr Caisley describes himself as a financial advisor and his page on business networking site LinkedIn tells of how his clients include retired footballers like Duncan Ferguson and Ian Wright.

His other clients include former England manager Glenn Hoddle, ex Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier and Southhampton supermo Mark Hughes.

A search of the website belonging to business watchdog Companies House shows that Mr Caisley and Mr Alexander were directors of a firm called Provision Financial Consultants.

The Companies House website states the business was dissolved in April 2014.

According to legal papers lodged at the Court of Session, Mr Smith claims both Mr Caisley and Mr Alexander agreed to refund him £600,000 in commission fees they received from selling him “financial products”.

Mr Smith, of Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, claims the two men entered into an agreement with him over the refund in March 2012.

However, he claims to have only received £280,000. He says the company which Mr Caisley and Mr Alexander was part of went into liquidation and was unable to pay the remaining amount.

Mr Smith’s legal team want the court to rule that the two men should pay their client the remaining sum of money.

On Tuesday, a procedural hearing took place at the court before judge Lord Bannatyne.

Mr Alexander’s legal team wanted the court to make an order for Mr Smith’s legal team to hand over documents which they say would help prepare their case.

However, Mr Smith’s lawyers asked the court not to grant the order.

Advocate Neil Beynon said the information being sought by Mr Alexander’s lawyers wasn’t specific enough for the court to grant the order.

He added: “I would submit this remains a fishing diligence.”

David Thomson QC said the information being sought by his client was important and that the court should grant his request.

The court had earlier refused a request for Mr Smith to hand over information. But Mr Thomson said that he had received new information from witness statements.

He said this meant that the court should grant an order which would mean that Mr Smith would have to comply with the requests being made by Mr Alexander’s lawyers

He added: “It’s my submission that there has been a relevant change of circumstances. This cannot be characterised as a fishing diligence.”

Judge Lord Bannatyne said he’d issue his decision on whether Mr Alexander’s lawyers should receive the information next week.

He added: “I want to consider the various submissions which have been made. I will give my decision on this next Tuesday at 9.30am.”

The full hearing in the case will be held later this month.