Rangers report operating loss of Â£1.1m for final 6 months of 2017

Rangers have recorded an operating loss of Â£1.1m in the final six months of 2017. Picture: SNS/Craig Foy

• READ MORE: Dave King makes £11m offer for Rangers shares after court battle

The club issued a two-page document detailing unaudited trading results for Rangers International Football Club plc which showed an operating loss of £1.1million, following an operating profit of about £300,000 in the final six months of 2016.

Revenue for the six months was reported at £19.4million, up £3.1million on the same period in 2016, but operating expenses increased by £3.5million “excluding amortisation of players’ registrations”.

The overall loss was reported as £926,000, almost four times the deficit in the same period in 2016.

The club stated that investor loans totalled £17.7million on December 31, which is £1.8million up from the figure at the end of June. The annual accounts for 2016-17 had revealed a £6.7million net loss for the season and stated that chairman Dave King would stem further shortfalls over the following 18 months.

That report had predicted the club would need additional funding of £4million this season, some of it in November.

The club agreed a loan facility with merchant banking group Close Brothers earlier this year, reported to be £3million, which was described in the latest report as “new short-term external funding”.

In a statement accompanying the balance sheet, King stated that the main reason for the increased spending was investment in the “playing squad and football department, encompassing scouting, recruitment and performance analysis”. He also added that there had been a “marked increase” in spending on match-day initiatives such as fan zones.

King added: “Given the investment detailed above, the board is comfortable with this planned level of loss reported, and are satisfied that the results for the full year will continue to have the club on a sure financial footing.”

Major shareholder King, whose family trust had provided £6.7million in loans by the middle of 2017, was recently ordered to prepare an £11million offer for the remainder of the club’s shares after losing a court battle with the Takeover Panel.

In a separate statement issued after the financial results, he said: “I confirm that it will be announced today that one of my trust companies will now proceed and shall within a short period make a fully funded offer in compliance with the normal requirements of the Takeover Panel.