Rangers chairman Craig Whyte has issued a statement highly critical of the Daily Record but drawn short of withdrawing privelidges from the newspaper.
This morning’s edition of the paper painted a bleak picture of the clubs’ finances with former Chairman Alastair Johnston and former director Paul Murray speculating that the club could be about to be placed in administration.
The main issues raised by the Record was that four seasons of season ticket money had been mortaged to a company called Ticketus and that HMRC had issued a demand for VAT of £5m on that deal.
While denying the VAT element Whyte admitted to a deal with Ticketus without going into any specifics.
He told the Rangers website: “First, I would like to address specifically the latest attempt to undermine Rangers in today’s Daily Record which devotes five pages to trashing our efforts to get this Club back on a sensible financial footing.
“In the most lurid terms, the Record accuses the Club’s management and, specifically me, of using supporters’ money to help fund the buy-out of Rangers. Not true.
“The Club is accused of not paying £5million in VAT. Not true.
“What is true is that Rangers, like many other clubs, has a financing arrangement in place with a company called Ticketus which enables the Club to receive revenue from a portion of season ticket sales in advance.
“There is nothing unusual or untoward in this arrangement which was put in place at the Club long before my takeover last year and was used by the previous management. For members of that regime to criticise the use of a scheme they put in place is, frankly, outrageous.”
He added: “The Daily Record’s approach to this story sought to distort and dramatise the matter. I for one will not be reading or buying the Daily Record again and I’m sure many other Rangers fans will share my disgust at yet another smear on this football club.”
Whyte’s statement confirmed that a fee had been agreed with Everton for the sale of Nikica Jelavic but it’s unlikely that there will be enough time to bring in any replacements.
The statement claims that the Croatian wanted to leave and that there was no point in trying to keep a player who no longer wants to be at Ibrox.
Whyte went in to some detail about the summer transfer window which involved 14 different deals including lucrative contract extensions for Allan McGregor, Steve Davis and Steven Whittaker.
Football clubs are notoriously wary of giving out too much information on their finances but the new Rangers chairman confirmed that there is a £10m deficit between the clubs income and expenditure.
He added: “As it stands at the moment Rangers has operating costs of approximately £45 million a year and revenues of around £35million – not including revenue from possible Champions’ League and Europa League participation.
“As we know, European money cannot be taken for granted and it doesn’t take much to work out that without it there is a big financial hole to fill every year – regardless of who owns the Club.
“I’ve said many times that in Scottish football we have to move on from this mindset that you have to keep spending more and more money – that’s what got this Club into financial trouble before. We have to live within our means, continue to develop talent and spend wisely.
“These are challenging financial times for Rangers – as they are for many other businesses. What I can say to you as a Rangers fan is that everything I will do as chairman will be in the interests of the Club and I thank you for your continued support.”
CLICK HERE for Neil Lennon worry over Emilio Izaguirre
CLICK HERE for Daily Record turns on Craig Whyte
Follow Video Celts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube
But is it typical to borrow money to the value of 4 years season ticket sales? This is a genuine question. Season tickets has got to be the biggest earner for Rangers therefore they have no main income stream for the next 4 seasons. Is this what he says is common at most football clubs?
johnd, £24m is no way 4 years season ticket money, it doesn’t add up. If conservatively you take an average season ticket price of say £500 and lets say they sell 40,000 of their 50,00 seats as seasons then that’s £20m a season not the £6m the numbers suggested today add up to.
I can only assume that the £24m is the most Ticketus would be willing to lend against future season ticket revenues.
So who’s going to buy the Record now ? 🙂
The only thing that Celtic and the huns have in common, contempt for a filthy bigotted rag.
Why release a statement….why not SUE the Daily Record….after all it’s apparent Rangers could do with the money IF they were successful if proving the record are trying to mislead. There again they may be telling the truth…albeit drip fed by Dave “Crook” King trying to manipulate his way into control.
I think the ticket deal is 6 million a year the buns pay ticketus or 6 million plus interest but missed the 1st payment meaning they pay more in interest not really sure it’s hard to no what he’s doing don’t really care as long as their death is slow and painfull and we have a day in the year to remember the end a bit like St Paddys day but better hail hail
I’d say its essentially a secured loan. If Rangers default they have security over a portion of season ticket sales which is a revenue rather than an asset of Rangers (a right of assignment). Assets of Rangers are already mortgaged to the hilt and noone would accept whatever is left as security after Whyte’s offshore holding structures secured debt.