Four bidders for Rangers

Duff & Phelps, the administrators running Rangers, have confirmed that a fourth bid has been received for the club.   Some mystery surrounds this fourth bid.   Some reports suggest that it comes from a Middle East consortium, but others think it is a UK based bid.

Duff & Phelps, the administrators running Rangers, have confirmed that a fourth bid has been received for the club.   Some mystery surrounds this fourth bid.   Some reports suggest that it comes from a Middle East consortium, but others think it is a UK based bid.

In any event, although any further serious offers will be considered, none is thought likely to arrive.  The first three expressions of interest received at the weekend came from the Blue Knights consortium, headed by former Rangers director Paul Murray, as well as Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy and the Club Nine Sports group from Chicago.   They previously made an unsuccessful attempt to win control of Sheffield Wednesday.

The administrators would like to identify a preferred bidder to move forward the process of taking the club out of administration, but a complicating factor is the status of Ticketus.  They paid Craig Whyte £24.4m for an initial three years of season tickets which he used to pay off Rangers’ bank debt and take control of the club.

The administrators are in a legal battle to have the agency’s claim to the money removed to make the club more attractive to investors.   As matters stand, a substantial amount of cash flow over the next three years would not be available.