Rangers should escape liquidation

It is looking increasingly likely that Rangers will be able to escape liquidation and come out of administration by the end of the season through a company voluntary arrangement rather than through the formation of a ‘newco’.


Four bids were submitted by the deadline yesterday evening.   Former Rangers director Paul Murray’s Blue Knights consortium is joined by bids from Germany, the United States and Singapore.   Sale Sharks owner Paul Kennedy said that he would only bid if he thought the winner would put the club into liquidation.

It is looking increasingly likely that Rangers will be able to escape liquidation and come out of administration by the end of the season through a company voluntary arrangement rather than through the formation of a ‘newco’.


Four bids were submitted by the deadline yesterday evening.   Former Rangers director Paul Murray’s Blue Knights consortium is joined by bids from Germany, the United States and Singapore.   Sale Sharks owner Paul Kennedy said that he would only bid if he thought the winner would put the club into liquidation.


The German bid is something of a surprise and a mystery.   The American consortium no longer includes Club 9 of Chicago who were thought to be the leading participants so it is uncertain who is left.   Glasgow-based businessman Shabaz Bakhsh has been the public face of the Singapore group.


There has been some questioning of how familiar the Singapore group is with football in Scotland.  However, one of the key players, Bill Ng, is a seriously wealthy individual.   His objective would be to take the Rangers brand out of Europe and across the globe, but in particular into the Far East.


There is still the possibility of the club facing a £70m bill as the result of a pending tax tribunal decision, but presumably the bidders have factored this into their assessment of the risks involved.