Prospective new Rangers owner Charles Green was left 'massively disappointed' after being told that HMRC would not back his CVA.
Gers facing liquidation after HMRC say they will vote against CVA
Prospective new Rangers owner Charles Green was left 'massively disappointed' after being told that HMRC would not back his Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
Green, who is leading the Sevco consortium that was given preferred bidder status last month, was furious at the failure to approve the deal two days before the date of the CVA that could prevent the 140-year-old club from going into liquidation.
The Ibrox club entered bankruptcy protection in February following a long-running dispute with tax authorities, which are owed £21million.
Earlier, Green assured fans that
Rangers Football Club will remain and will continue to play at Ibrox.
"It's bitterly disappointing, particularly when throughout the process we've been led to believe they've (HMRC) been considering it and then I read today, as I'm sure everyone else has, from the administrator that it's a policy decision," Green told
Sky Sports News.
Outrageous
"Is this a policy decision that came out as a point of policy this week, or if it was a policy decision throughout, why couldn't they have told us that in February or March? I think it's really, really bad.
"We could have saved a lot of money and my group personally could have saved a lot of time and money, so I find this outrageous."
Green is expected to push ahead with plans to buy the club's assets for £5.5million in the coming days, although there is no guarantee the new entity will be able to play in the Scottish Premier League with other clubs expected to vote on a 'newco'.
He added: "The reality is, other clubs have gone down newco routes and gone back into the SPL. We've seen that, so obviously there is a precedent out there of newco being accepted back in the SPL. It will be down to the members of the SPL post Thursday."
Plan
Meanwhile, the club's administrator Paul Clark admitted Rangers would have to now turn to their fall-back plan, which is the sale of the business and assets.
"We'd never been confirmed that they (HMRC) would definitely vote in favour and nor did they say they would definitely vote against, so it's a disappointment rather than a surprise," Clark said.
"We knew there was a possibility they might vote against. We obviously would not have put the proposal forward if we didn't think it stood a reasonable chance of success.
"We're told that on the basis that the financial return that they would have got, they would have rejected it on whoever it was, so it's not a case of personality.
"It's more about the financial return they're receiving on the deal that was on offer and I would remind you, that was the very best deal that we had.
"I don't think anything more could have been done."
HMRC on Tuesday night responded to Green's comments by pointing out that the offer was only put forward within the last fortnight.
A statement read: "The CVA was put up for consideration on May 31st.
"Voting against will enable the club to continue while allowing us to pursue possible claims against those responsible for the club's financial affairs in the past."
