Stewart Robertson insists Rangers will not be affected by a court ordering chairman Dave King to make an £11million offer for the remaining shares in the Ibrox club.
Unless he appeals the ruling in favour of the Takeover Panel, King must submit an offer within 30 days after a written decision by Lord Bannatyne which followed an earlier hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
The South Africa-based businessman was ruled to have acted in concert with George Letham, Douglas Park and George Taylor when they bought a combined stake of 34 per cent of the club in early 2015.
Stewart Robertson says Rangers will not suffer on the pitch because of off-field distractions
He is now liable to make an offer totalling almost £11m for the remaining Rangers shares.
While the 20p share price set by the Takeover Panel is unlikely to attract many sellers, King would have to pay the £500,000 cost of creating a prospectus. The Rangers chairman is a key funder of the club and has guaranteed in excess of £7m to plug projected shortfalls over the next two years.
Managing director Robertson insists any financial consequences for King from yesterday’s ruling won’t change that support or the board’s plans for a separate share issue next year.
‘It doesn’t have any impact on us at all,’ said Robertson. ‘That is an issue for Dave in terms of the shareholders.
‘In terms of the day-to-day running of the club and the PLC and the share issue we are looking at in the future, it has no impact on that whatsoever.
‘As far as the club is concerned, we are just running as we do. It is not impacting on any decisions we are taking at all.’
Rangers are in the hunt for second spot in the Scottish Premiership alongside Aberdeen
Pressed on whether he was confident King’s future guarantees wouldn’t be affected, Robertson added: ‘One hundred per cent. Absolutely.’
King owns around 15 per cent of the Rangers International Football Club plc shares through his family trust, New Oasis Asset Limited, and the judge rejected his claim that he did not have direct control over its assets.
- Scottish Premiership
- Premier League
- Championship
- League One
- League Two
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Div 1
- Scottish Div 2
- Scottish Div 3
- Ligue 1
- Serie A
- La Liga
- Bundesliga
Lord Bannatyne also dismissed King’s argument that he could not afford to buy the shares and also rejected his assertion that the 20p share price set was so far below market price that shareholders would not accept it. Both arguments were deemed ‘irrelevant’.
The Takeover Panel took King to court because it believed he hadn’t complied with the terms of the 2006 Companies Act. The legislation dictates that entrepreneurs who hold a 30 per cent stake in a business are compelled to make an offer to investors to buy remaining shares.
In Friday’s written judgment, Lord Bannatyne said he agreed with the submissions made to him by James McNeill QC, the advocate who acted for the Takeover Panel.
‘Having regard to all of the relevant circumstances, in exercise of my discretion, I grant the order sought,’ he wrote.
‘I believe that Mr McNeill is correct in his submission that the respondent has de facto control over the trusts.
‘I do not accept on the information before me that because the respondent’s assets have been placed within these trusts, he has no de facto control over these trusts and therefore is impecunious and cannot therefore make an order as required by rule nine.’
The Takeover Panel took Dave King to court because it believed he hadn’t complied with the terms of the 2006 Companies Act, and the decision went in their favour