The Sevco High Command is now very much in the post King dispensation.
The Blue Room chaps all realise that Dave’s money will not arrive.
Ever.
That means that the year-end accounts of RIFC are nonsensical.
However, that is the least of the trouble.
This is a loss-making business without a credit line from a bank.
It needs to cash to operate.
This is the main reason that Mr Alastair James Johnston had to pony up some emergency liquidity recently.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is his money.
So fair play to him.
A Wall Street buddy suggested to me that Mr Johnston’s net worth was probably in the region of $9m.
At current rates that is £6.74m.
If Mr Johnston has, say, dipped into his 401K fund then he definitely is the genuine article when it comes to being a “Real Rangers man”.
At the time of writing, my information is that the USA based businessman had come up with a sum between £500k-£1.5m.
This is lifesaving keep the lights on stuff.
However, it doesn’t address the real long-term problems that beset Sevco.
Mr Johnston was involved in the recent decision to seek invoice financing, which is a story I broke here recently.
So there you have it, a real supporter stepped forward when the Limpopo Kid was posted missing.
Perhaps the South African based entrepreneur knew that as the insolvency clock was ticking towards midnight a guy who really cares would step forward.
I suppose it is just as well that Mr David Cunningham King has no intention of calling in the loan which is currently on the Sevco balance sheet.
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I suspect a lot of the emotion of the 43,000 fans is based on sheer stupidity. Someone tells them something they want to hear and they blindly cling to it as gospel truth, buying season tickets on the basis of whatever fanciful shite they’ve told, no matter how poisonous, bigoted, untruthful or downright unbelievable it is. Sorry, but I can have NO respect for such people, or the puppet masters who pull the strings.
The Ibrox Noise blog is an absolute belter and always good for a laugh.
They are blogging that Cardoso is wanted by the Portoguese CRACKS Estoril FC.
That will be the same Estoril FC, 2bd bottom of the Portoguese league with 11 points from 15 games.
Crackers not cracks.
Estoril is where Stein and the Bhoys stayed before that match in Lisbon.
Phil
Great article once again and insight into the monetary funds of Mr AJJ.
The “Pompadour “ he always seems to be hanging around like a 70 year old’s
scrotum. Have we any idea how much he is worth and has he ever “fed the pony” from his own clown’s pocket? (No pun intended)
When King promised transparency, what he meant was I don’t have a Nomad lined up, no Nomad would touch me with a barge pole, which is jsut dandy cos I don’t need no stinkin’ Nomad – that way, you poor mugs will never know the terms of my loans to Sevco and how little risk I’m taking while I wait for a big rich mug to fuel the Ibrox cash-furnace and boost my shares so I can cash in and fiuck off out of this shit hole. With all due respect and Rangersness, yours DCK.
I predict a riot of people somewhat dissappointed with King after his exit – with or without his intended swag bag.
Hmm. Sale of a player will bring in only the value net of outstanding payment instalments to the previous owner. Wonder therefore how much of a positive contribution a mass sale in January would actually realise …
Speculation elsewhere is that AJ has paid for Pedro’s severance, to allow a clean break.
Ah Phil if only it were true!
The stenographers are gushing at Mark Allen stepping into the breach and tying up January deals for Walker, McLean and Murphy.
There seems no limits to the expanding Ibrox wage bill.
Cash crisis…..what crisis?
It’s as if those running the football and player side of things don’t have a scoobie about the financial position and if King has reneged on his pledge to the auditors then all bets are off.
You can’t mislead your auditors into signing off on the accounts with false promises as there are consequences for them as well if it all goes pear shape.
ST renewals are 5 months away. The cash flow shortfall was out of date before it was published.
If King’s strategy has moved from over investment to zero investment, what next?
It would be fitting at this particular time of the year if a new saviour appeared carrying with him a warchest of millions and perchance a top class manager.
King is waiting for someone else to build a valuable company so the shares he bought with borrowed money become a nice little earner. Forget all ideas that King has invested ANYTHING or has gone to any personal expense as Chairman. He’s not a giver, he’s a sociopath taker, incapable of emotional investment of any kind. Any NOAL loans will be secured against IP and assets that hold the future of Sevco and Rangers The Third hostage i.e. as risk free as loans can be.
I’d suggest that Johnson now. at last, understands the dynamics and is desparately trying to arrange foreign funding that approximates to a bank overdraft in the hope of buying enough time to engineer a break-even business – out of sheer necessity rather than any business epiphany or loss of RRMness – of course – with every possible assistance from the three-monkey SFA who can’t see past the need to re-create the ugly-sisters business model.
My prognoisis – all too little too late Alistair – late penalties from dutiful brothers can only get you so far – but you’re 5-1 down in added time.
Today, I’ll mostly be singing “Pale Blue Eyes” by The Velvet Underground
The lack of a credit-line from a bank reflects two distressing facts: when Murray eventually withdrew from the fray, his business losses to his wider group (not the Gers) were written off to the tune of half a billion pounds; secondly, when Craig Whyte pitched up (or is is White, I never know) he claimed Ibrox as his… who owns it seems still subject to argument. Then there are the folk on the payroll, where once there were onerous contracts. If you were a cynic, you might believe that the entire Sevco operation was a scam being run at the expense of the poor bloody fans. But surely, this can’t be true. Surely the football authorities wouldn’t allow this to happen? I am sure King Dave won’t call in his loan on AJ’s windfall, and I am certain that nobody with a business relationship to AJ will be at all worried about his exposure to the financial black hole which is Sevco. All will be well…. I clearly remember saying this to my partner the night before the Brexit vote. We’re still in.. what.. you mean…aaarghh….
Administration closing in on them surely once again they bollocks up our game here that didn’t last long surely Cunningham king considering of stepping down advantage Celtic Here we go to 10 in a row
Apologies, does the balance sheet say Mr D.C.King is OWED money via a loan?
Does that mean he input his OWN money?!
No.
Because of the unsecured loans, RIFC is a worthless basket case of valueless shares.
Although, I am not sure bout the secured status of the loans used to pay off Ashley!
TRFC is its only asset. Selling it would be the only hope of realising any cash for RIFC shareholders.
However, it could not be sold with the debt to RIFC included. That is delusional.
The late, great, Paul McConville estimated that Chick bought it for less than £100k (I can’t post the link, but search his site, especially re gratuitous alienation)
Given that Ibrox is probably a liability and that any player registration sales are one off, the £100k may not be far from the mark.
However, TRFC have held onto a remarkable fan base sellin 43k season tickets this season.
That is not to be taken lightly and TRFC’s fans should be admired for their support of their club however naive others may take them for.
But it would be an optimistic business plan that relied on 43k season ticket sales on a 5 year business plan and included European success on the playing field.
I’m afraid that none of these unsecured lenders will ever see their money back.
It may be an emotional attachment. I would do anything for love, but I sure as feck wouldn’t do that!
If they rid themselves of all the expensive players, wages, then they would have to start to play some of the youngsters and who better to manage these prodigies than the person who has coached them for a great number of years, Murty? It all makes sense, doesn’t it?
“Never give up! Never surrender!”
Johnston shows that life really does imitate art at those times when you’re a loss making company with no credit line from a bank:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r7bo_A6XnUU
By Grabthar’s Hammer…
What tangible asset has AJJ now got first dibs on?
It can’t be a player as they are disposable and he won’t be guaranteed to get his money back.
Every other equity injector has claimes to crests, stadiums and car parks. Has AJJ just bought a run down training facility in the leafy suburbs of Milngavie???
It’s clear now that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand’s doing around Ibrox, but is it any surprise, when in Dave King’s case, the left eye doesn’t even know what the right eye’s doing ..?
Maybe the reason for their ongoing generosity is because they all know there’s a knight on a shining ambulatory device just waiting in the wings to come to the outcast damsel’s rescue.
We know things always become curiouser and curiouser over there but their own particular ‘rabbit hole’ seems to contain more labyrinths than the deluxe collections of Borges & Carroll combined.
Sevco will ALWAYS survive as long as there’s a bent cabal in place where there really should be a viable,honest footballing authority that applies the rules without favour and/or bias.
A new sfa is required above and before ANY other sevco matters can be dealt with,or we’ll just see the same repeated until there is.
Sevco and the sfa,a match made in Hades.
Thanks for the update Phil, HH?
Rangers dies…Sevco can too.
2nd time around will be tougher to miraculously come back.
The UK is about to enter a massive recession….one that many companies will not survive.
2018 is going to be a very interesting year
Been ages since I’ve heard mention of the Sevco Triangle. Wonder if might share a BVI postbox with NOAL. ?
Cold shoulder?
Sssshhhh the Rainjurs are comin
King can’t be penniless… the peepil are forking out,big time,for his wage plus expenses.
Well well.
What about the assurances given to Dallas Campbell that enabled the auditors to sign off on the accounts?
If the auditors have been misled about King’s future funding what else have they been misled about?
No auditor want to lose a client but a proper audit stands or falls on the information supplied by the Directors. Honesty and transparency should be a given.
Without the promise of NOAL funding the accounts would not have been signed off by the auditors.
I suggest this gives Dallas Campbell a huge problem and they could do walking away before the COS judgement appears.
The initial forecast cash shortfall for this season was £4m, and that was before Pedro was axed.
Whose going to step up with the balance required to keep the lights on?
So instead of adding bodies in the window as expected by the fans and confirmed by King at the AGM that funds were available to do so, anyone on the player roster is for sale, at distress prices.
What a shambles, guys like MOH contributing to St J’s but Newco picking up most of his wages. He has a contract till 2020 and he’s not the only one.
Dodoo, Forrester, Rossiter, Krankjar, et al, either out on loan or not contributing.
Mark Allen must be wondering what he’s signed up to.
The auditors are between a rock and a hard place, what next for them?
What if creditors lose money if there is an admin event?
Two months since Pedro was bulleted, will there be a new manager in place before the January window closes?
Will Miller be conscripted till the season end, the cheapest option?
The only logical explanation is that a player or players are sold in January and AJ is first to get his money back. Maybe the holding company has word that Pena and Herrera will be bought albeit at a massive loss. If they spent 3M in transfers the tribute act would happily take a 50% or even 75% hit to get rid of the wages.
When you factor in the contributions of Alves, Cardoso, Pena and Herrera, they would be no worse of without these players.
This is where they can survive imo, if they can offload these expensive duds that are contributing next to nothing.
If you apply logic there would be nobody willing to throw money at this club.
Some great tales about mad millionaire’s throwing money down Sevco black hole,pull the other one.The point being, who or what,is supplying money to allow this club to continue,and if its these directors I will believe that Elvis is still alive
Therein lies the problem.
No one else will match their contract terms and buying the contracts out requires immediate hard cash.
If they go belly up will all these emotional loans be as it were Parked or will they all be busy with hammers getting their shares of the bigot dome in lieu of vanished gargle vouchers.
Is it not going against the FFP rules just putting money in to a football club. Is that no seen as living outside a clubs meens
I think there’s a limit to how much of a club’s “income” (loans aren’t really income as they need to be paid back, as opposed to pure income from e.g. ticket sales) over three seasons in terms of a percentage. That’s why converting the loans to equity (swapping the debt for shares) is important. However FFP only applies to European competition. Obviously the Sevco FA will bend over backwards to help them any way they can so don’t expect any movement on FFP domestically.
The late Coronation St lingerie tycoon Mike Baldwin always use to say thar there’s no place for sentiment in business. It just goes to show how wrong even an established character like him could be!
I laughed at that one.
Isn’t this the same Mr King who’s Queens Council told the Judge at His last Court appearance the he was Penniless ?
Ah but John, one story for the Court Of Session, a completely different one for the auditors.
Lord Bannatyne would love to see the proof of funds shown to Campbell Dallas by King……assuming he did show them proof of funds!
Given that King’s counsel even offered to prove to M’lud how skint his client was perhaps he too would like a gander at the proof of funds provided to the auditor.
Of course proof of funds is only one part of the equation. If there is no binding agreement/contract to use them then it’s just noise.
I heard that ‘Rangersitus’ can be cured instantly by £3.5m, apparently.
What was that song again?
Say hello hello, say goodbye…… To his money anyway.
That’s going a place where he won’t see it again. Good to know some of it will likely help cover expenses for Directors travel costs, can’t have them at a loss.
Wonder how long that pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things sum will last.
Madness indeed.
I wonder how many monocles he could have bought for £1.5mill ….
I’d be surprised if that cash from a 401k, rather than some other liquid asset (or even a loan). Major tax hit taking that much out of a 401k.
The big questions, the only questions, are; 1) what is he getting in return in terms of stock? And 2) what sort of security does he have on his investment?
AJ is many things but he isn’t stupid.
Worth bearing in mind that he had a pivotal role during the EBT years. That apparently qualifies him as a Real Rangers man.
Since the Real Rangers days are over, we can surmise that it is business rather than emotion that is driving him here.
Question: why doesn’t this club have a credit line or overdraft? Why? I could open a tin-pot business tomorrow and have an overdraft in place by Tuesday. So why won’t the banks throw them any sort of line?
Those of you who know the answer to that question are amongst a very small and understandably quiet minority.
What’s the reason? Is Ibrox valuable real estate, ripe for a lucrative redevelopment? Have “they” decided that Scotland doesn’t need a Rangers and all the cultural baggage that comes with them?
No. The opposite is closer to the truth.
Is that a serious question?
Fuck me gently, would you lend that lot money?
They are penniless, crooks and liars. King drove the share price down by asking the knuckledraggers to bleed them of money (still cannot believe he got away with that one)
It’s been awesome since 2012
Not only is it a serious question, it’s probably the most serious question anybody could ask of this business.
They’ve been operating since 2012. Normally that in itself would contribute massively towards credit worthiness.
On the face of it, based on prevailing assumptions and conditionals, they are a business that is poised to improve in terms of projected turnover etc. They’re in the top league, with a bunch of assets, no major clouds that we know of hanging over them, have a more or less guaranteed turnover of around £40m, etc., etc.
So, yes, it’s a serious question. The answer must be pretty serious too, if banks won’t lend to this business. And it deserves serious consideration.
You would think that, as the supposed establishment club with friends in high places, they would be able to at least get some basic credit facility that allowed them to cover short term cashflow issues. I can’t really think of any reason why at least one bank wouldn’t be prepared to work with them, except maybe knowledge of some sort of criminality.
Why don’t you ask Phil why banks won’t touch them? Actually, I think there’s an article at least there.
Maybe the fact that their chairman and at least one other board member were part of the half a billion pounds worth of debt, fraud & bankruptcy left in the wake of MIM ..?
Just a thought, though I agree that this pertinent question is worthy of further investigative study.
If you had recently been caught red handed trying to steal the identity of a recently deceased bankrupt then you might find that overdraft a little harder to come by ?
Thankfully the January transfer window opens soon and they can sell some of their assets that have taken them to 3rd in the the Scottish premier league.
That’ll keep them going till the the season ticket money rolls in.
Now, I wonder what happens if they cant flog any the players ?
I actually hate the tribute act more than the dead club.
Would never have thought that possible
Phil,
This car crash will continue to the end of this season and well into next, i know we have all being hoping that Admin 2 is round the corner followed by Liquidation 2 but as long as the SFA turn a blind eye to the fact Sevco are relying on loans to keep the lights on and trading whilst insolvent nothing will be done, we just have to get used to the fact that Sevco are going to be around no matter what even if they are as you say “A loss making business without a credit line from the bank”
Tim, admin 1 and Liquidation 1………as Phil would say, “keep up”.
Trading whilst insolvent, now that’s a question that only Dallas Campbell can answer.
The latest accounts carried the usual, for Sevco, going concern warning which once again clearly stated that the club/company/thingy would again rely on the generosity of the board and the concert party to meet cash shortfalls as and when they arose.
King and NOAL were specifically mentioned.
If King has reneged then the accounts are, as Phil stated, worthless but carry the Dallas Campbell signature nevertheless.
All bets are off now and it’s little wonder, as Phil reported last week, that Dallas Campbell were at Ibrox for…….er, clarification talks.
What is amazing is that month after month they find someone willing to set fire to a million quid (give or take). I do have respect for him having that kind of emotional attachment that he is willing to throw away his money. However, that is exactly what the chappie from south of the Limpopo has always counted on – and he appears to be justified in that belief of a fool and his money!
Phil; Assuming that AJ pumped in only enough to make wages this month then what? I thought that the accounts stated they needed immediate investment of 2-3 million before year-end and then another similar amount to see out the season. Where is that going to come from? Do they really believe they can sell some of these players to make money or that a sugar daddy will magically appear. One thing we can be sure of, it will not be coming from GSL.
Tut, tut…selling players, never.
If that was true the media would be all over it.
McLean, Walker and Murphy incoming as well as the recall of some loanees.
Last week Moult would have been on that list but at the end if the day they decided he just wasn’t good enough, a bit like Derek McInnes.
Someone somewhere will always pony up the funds to keep them afloat.. particularly at this kind of quantum
They will be determined to ensure they do not suffer the ignominy of another insolvency event
“Another insolvency event..”? Nope new club – first event
Once you’ve been liquidated you can’t, well…. be liquidated AGAIN….. really ?…!
Peter The Pedant
Come on, why don’t they just liquidate. They are hated as much as mk1.
It’s emo behaviour only up to the point three player sales in January pays him back and finances the club to May 2018.
But can you respect what he is emotional about?
its an awful lot of emotion for a club still in its infancy………..looks like things are hotting up again for Sevco The Rangers.
I like that.
respect to mr johnston for respecting the dead
Is Mr Johnston insane?…why would you pump money into this distressed company…it’s the equivilant of giving CPR to a corpse. He is surely only postponing the inevitable and has no chance of getting this money back. Utter madness.
It is emotional with him.
I respect that.
Agreed, it has to be emotional with him, so yes respect indeed…it is still like applying a band aid to a life threatening wound.
Stalling for time and praying for a miracle.
Coming from you Phil…
That’s Progres.
It was emotional with the Gestapo.
Do you respect them too Phil?
Godwin’s Law.
Oh dear…
Yeah, that’s right, bring Hitler into it!
Good yin, Phil 😀
Educational and entertaining! Nice one Phil..!
I think Phil can respect a guy who actually backs up his words whatever his allegiance, especially as it’s such a rare thing in relation to Sevco.
If big talk converted to money, Sevco would have been vying with PSG for the signatures of Neymar and Mbappe
… and right on cue! 🙂
Lol!
The word “Herrenvolk” would never be used by yourself of course.
My comparison Phil, was that the Gestapo propped up an evil, disgusting and racist party,
just as Alistair Johnston is doing!!!
It was no slight on you Phil.
Mr Mah Jest Stick, stop being a sycophant.
Look up Godwin’s Law…
Ah well, abiding by Godwin’s Law my argument is now shut down.
You still get my point though Phil.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
‘Sycophant’?!
Surely you mean ‘amused audience’?
And at your expense, Gerry! 😀
It’s been a constant emotional turmoil for the fans for years now and that is why they continually but season tickets, they don’t want to see their club die. So no matter who is fleecing them their hearts rule their heads. Emotion doesn’t make it right though as they are only prolonging the agony and encouraging the conmen. I question Johnston’s motives, is he really going to buck the trend established by his wise guy predecessors? I don’t see it, there is something in it for him.