Wednesday 10 June 2015 15:50, UK
Mike Ashley has released a statement ahead of the general meeting at Rangers on Friday explaining why MASH is requesting the return of £5m owed by the club.
The Newcastle United owner insists the money MASH - Ashley's holding company through which he holds his stakes in Newcastle and Sports Direct - made available was a “short term loan facility” and that the new Ibrox board should pay it back in full to the company immediately.
Rangers chairman Dave King recently indicated the new Ibrox board was in no rush to clear the debt, when he described the situation between the parties as a “holistic relationship”.
But MASH is requesting clarification on why Rangers were delisted from the Stock Exchange and failed to deliver on the promise of finding a new Nominated Advisor, which King indicated was in place prior to the EGM in March where his consortium assumed control at Ibrox.
The statement from Ashley, who owns a near nine per cent shareholding in Rangers, read: “MASH was surprised and concerned as to the speed with which, following the general meeting held on 6 March 2015, Rangers Plc was delisted from AIM.
MASH was surprised and concerned as to the speed with which, following the general meeting in March, Rangers was delisted from AIM.
“MASH had relied upon Mr David King's various public statements that that there was a NOMAD willing to come in to act for Rangers Plc (subject to the customary checks). Clearly, at some stage in the NOMAD appointment process, it became clear to the new board that the potential NOMAD was not satisfied with its investigations of Rangers Plc.
“The key question is when exactly did this happen and what steps did the New Board take as part of normal contingency planning to consider alternative NOMADs and engage with the AIM Regulator so as to ensure that the AIM listing was preserved?
'Consequence'
“Crucially, did the New Board leave it all to the very last minute and were then left with no viable alternative? The consequence of what happened is that Rangers Plc no longer has a public listing, nor is it subject to the AIM regulatory rules which is all the more important in circumstances where the new Chairman of the New Board has, as is a matter of public record, been prosecuted for and admitted liability in respect of various criminal offences in South Africa, resulting in the payment then of approximately £44 million to cover liabilities and fines in South Africa.”
While King has publically raised concerns over a dramatic reduction in merchandise revenue, MASH has disputed the claims, and believes the club has made poor judgements in stocking their stores, given the level the team has been playing at for almost three years.
The statement read: “Sports Direct notes from the recent voting advice statement issued by the new Board on 3 June 2015 that the New Board are saying that there has been: "a continued and dramatic reduction in income generated by retail operations".
“Sports Direct is of the opinion that there is no basis for this statement whatsoever, and invites the New Board (subject to complying with confidentiality obligations) to explain in detail the facts behind this statement.
“Sports Direct remains of the view that profits can be increased at Rangers Retail through more focused budgeting and ordering of products and that the historic profitability of Rangers Retail has been badly affected by the over ordering of products in the past and the opening of additional retail stores outside of the Ibrox Stadium.
“In Sports Direct's experience, the ordering of products should reflect the football league in which RFC operates and standalone stores outside of the main stadium are rarely profitable.
“It should not be forgotten that at the end of the day, Sports Direct is not a bank, it is a supportive business partner and it entered into £10 million loan facility with RFC on the basis of providing much needed financial support at the relevant time.”
King has advised shareholders, who elected the new board into place in March, to vote against paying MASH the £5m the company has loaned to Rangers.
