I must confess to a certain sense of vindication today.
The publication of the ruling by Lionel Persey QC (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) is the case between SDI Retail Services Limited v The Rangers Football Club is quite something.
Of course, regular readers of this site will not be surprised in the least that General Ashley has again triumphed over the Sevco High Command.
According to my Shirebrook source what will naturally follow next is a calculation by the court of what is due to Big Mike.
Paragraph 92 gives a flavour of this:
If relevant, I am satisfied that damages are not an adequate remedy for Rangers’ breaches. SDIR’s losses are likely to be in the order of many millions of pounds. Rangers has pleaded in §42A AmPoDCC that it will rely upon clause 16.3 of the Non-Exclusive Rights Agreement to limit its damages to £1,000,000. I accept SDIR’s submission that it would be unjust to deprive SDIR of the benefit of its matching right provisions
Yes, dear reader, you read that right, “many millions of pounds”.
Oh dear…
Now, for the avoidance of doubt, this is a total victory for Ashley.
No doubt the Stenography Corps will do their best to spin this in accordance with the usual high-Level guidelines.
Moreover, consider this dear reader.
Just put yourself in the place of Elite Sports or Hummel right now.
Can you do that?
What this judgement does is makes Sevco utterly toxic in the merchandising world.
This case will be taught in business schools for years on how NOT TO negotiate a contract.
In other news one of Pedro’s Galacticos, Daniel Candeias has left the building today.
As I had previously reported the initial deal was for £800k.
Turkish side Genclerbirligi had offered to pay that over four transfer windows.
However, the Sevco High Command went back and asked for most of it upfront.
That was something for a red flag for the Turkish side and they then knew it was a distressed sale.
Consequently, they countered with a lowball offer of the Candeias.
My information is that they offered the basket of assets £300k down and it was accepted!
That will not dent the legal bill that is coming down the pipe to the Blue Room.
A well-placed source told me less than an hour ago that there was a hastily arranged conclave of the Sevco High Command today to discuss the ruling.
I did not have, as yet, any information on how that Churchillian set down panned out.
However, when I do it will be published here.
Yeah, I’m feeling vindicated today…
Discover more from Phil Mac Giolla Bháin
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
You really should get someone who understands these trhings to explain the ramifications of the copied paragraph 92, particularly the part where he states “Damages are not an adequate remedy for Rangers’ breaches”. In particular ask him about the option of performance where damages are not adequate.
Then maybe give paragraph 94 a read for the Judges thoughts on how financially damaging this will be to Rangers
Can I suggest some working titles ….
Downfall II
Downfallen (again!)
Down and Out
How To Fail in Business Without Really Trying
Contract Law for Idiots (real ones)
Is it Still Just Relegation This Time?
The ‘Bear’ Necessities
Big House Blues II
The 7 Year Glitch
The King & I (Brox)
It would appear that the Ibrox Club’s PR team has lost control of the narrative.
Several media platforms have been reporting on the latest Sports Direct judgement though they can’t bring themselves to ask the question as to what impact financially this will have on the club going forward.
Equally there appears to be no appetite to identify who is responsible for the shambles that has resulted in the matching clauses in the contract having been consigned to the waste paper bin.
Given King’s penchant for kicking the can down the road then, no doubt, there will be an appeal, if that is possible, and the whole thing will be up in the air whilst the Scottish legal fraternity vote King as their Man Of The Year whilst raking in their fees.
Not great that the judge questioned the veracity of some of the witnesses from Rangers and Elite, including that nice Mr Blair.
Despite the full judgement being posted there are still some on the blue side unaware that the contract shambles is not due to the action of the previous board, and Ashley’s placemen, but is 100% the work of those Real Rangers men who have saved the club from Ashley’s clutches.
Not forgetting there is another legal battle going on over the proposed memorial garden.
Apart from the almost weekly court cases dragging the club through the muck everything is just dandy and according to Robertson there is oodles of money available to the manager.
That will be music to the ears of Ashley and Co as they seek their pound of flesh.
I am so happy
I note the action was against The Rangers Football Club Ltd., not RIFC. Is this significant?
Let’s not get carried away about the imminent second death. I read the judgement as implying SDIR’s damages are capped at $1 million. Elite has a claim which they may or may not pursue, but the judgement implies that these will not be high in any event.
On the other hand, the judgement does shine a light (if any were needed) on how King’s “Rangers” operates – lie, cheat and steal is the order of the day. Who would do business with such a parcel of rogues?
Did you read the judgement?
The judge has sided with Ashley and said the damages will be many millions and not capped at the £1m like rangers wanted
I think you haven’t read the judgement sufficiently carefully. The judge did indeed conclude that the damages suffered by SDIR amounted to many millions. However, he also stated that as the agreement limited relief of those and other damages to $1million, declaratory relief would be insufficient, and so ordered injunctive relief as claimed by SDIR.
Clearly, as a consequence of the injunctive relief Elite and Hummel may have claims against Rangers (sic,) but there is some distance before that quantum will be determined – it is not even clear whether these claims will be pursued.
At least someone gets it.
I would say both have been granted. Damages alone would not be sufficient compensation for Sports Direct hence he has granted the requested injunctive relief AND damages(sum of which still to be decided, but will be many millions).
Injunctive relief has been
awarded as of the ruling so RIFC have to immediately cease with the elite/hummel agreement and not communicate or assist either of those parties to continue trading merchandise……damages will be calculated and awarded at a later date!
Judge pretty much said that the £1m damages cap clause was irrelevant in the circumstances. He accepted SD’s submission that it would be unjust.
I think you should read the paragraph again as it states that there should be no £1m cap and that the sum due to SDI will be ‘many millions” HH
The Sevco figures are looking bleaker by the day. Last year their operating costs were 40m+, income 28m.. This year they have to pay back close bros, no retail and a increased wage bill with the SD ruling to boot. Nothing adds up and the SPFL will have to ask where is the money coming from.
Do they have to pay council for training ground as they own it
Rangers wanting fee paid upfront is a sign of “distressed sale”. Celtic want fee for Tierney from Arsenal upfront. By your logic, Celtic are in a distressed state or do different rules apply?
Celtic want the £25 paid in the normal tranches and not via highly unlikely add ons.
Big difference.
Do try and keep up…
Obviously, the Rangers are now short of a few quid, however there is absolutely no benefit to Ashley in them going down the tubes, he now has a long term ‘Cash Cow’ that he can bleed very slowly through his retail agreement, it is then beneficial to agree a long term repayment on whatever the final judgment figure is, the best outcome for the Rangers would be liquidation 2.
I don’t think Ashley is overly concerned with having a cash cow mate, he is after all a genuine billionaire with wealth off the radar!!
I think this might be personal.
Cheers
B
Arsenal dressed up their attempts to get to Celtic’s £25m valuation for KT with numerous add on clauses, some of which were not only unrealistic but over an extended payment period which Celtic were quite rightly to diss.
The transfer of the Portoguese wide man has seen the quoted transfer fee drop from the initial reported £800k to £250k.
If that’s not a distress sale then what is?
Given the fact that Rangers only major source of revenue is from ST sales, much of which is on an installment basis, and there has been outgoings for new faces, finances have to be cleverly managed at Ibrox.
With Close Bros now joined in the queue by Sports Direct there will be an immediate need to sell Morelos and Tavernier to clear the decks for the season ahead, thats if they achieve anything like the numbers that are flying about.
However Newcastle, a suggested suitor for Morelos and/or Tavernier, will be fully up to speed with the Sports Direct situation and any bids from them will reflect the immediate need for cash at Ibrox.
If Stevie G and his charges fail to reach the Europa Cup group stages then all bets are off.
The trip to Denmark is fraught with danger and Gerrard will be under severe pressure to deliver.
£25m was the basic it would allow teams to just talk to Tierney….if they want to BUY him, well, it would take more obviously….nothing distressed about the unbroken history winners of the last 9 trophies.
Quite so…
Rangers being offered £800k and accepting £300k immediately is evidence of a distressed sale. If Celtic agreed a deal with Arsenal tomorrow to sell Tierney for £15m (cash) rather than £25 over 3 years that had been offered previously then yes, you could call it a distressed sale.
Phil, you highlighted the phrase “many millions of pounds”. From the point of view of the sevco board, I would say the phrase “I am satisfied that damages are not an adequate remedy for Rangers breaches.” could be of even more concern. To my mind this implies that there could be some sort of heavy fine or sanctions imposed on them on TOP of any damages. What actions the Court has the authority to impose I simply don’t know but to my mind that is an ominous statement.
YA DANCER!!!
Sitting in my gitè in eastern Gaul….Madame Tecumseh asks what s that roaring sound coming from the north west…..it’s nothing I assure her….it’s only the boys in Coatcelbrdgli laughing their arses off at Sevco having to eat camel dung …..again….no Turkish delight for them Enochs….any time soon….
You wait for ages….then a whole fleet of buses whizz past….en route the scrappy….
Remind me to have a wee Moet here in champagne country tomorrow….nothing’s so good it can’t get better…
Ha…Ha…Ha…
Since the soft loans have been swapped for shares and Close Brothers have their loans secured against assets, would this decision not make SDI the biggest unsecured creditor in the event of any Administration event. Would this give them leverage over any future arrangement regarding what type of post Administration structure would be acceptable?
The obvious question from this mess is did Rangers solicitors spot the matching rights provision and warn their client of the potential consequences if SD was cut out of the deal?
Is it beyond probability that someone on the Rangers board ignored the advice and decided to go with Elite and Hummel and screw the consequences?
I suppose we will quickly know the answer to those questions if and when Rangers counter sue their current solicitors for the SD bill and their legal fees.
This bombshell is not being examined by the Scottish media in any detail so in general the Rangers fans are still on cloud nine, unaware of whats going on and thinking everything is tickety boo.
Those brave investors who have recently exchanged soft loans for diluted equity must be very worried men.
Bad enough swopping your hard earned for shares in a company that historically has never made a profit but hey look on the bright side, things can only get better.
Don’t think things will get better anytime soon!!
Congratulations Phil, your tenacity in keeping us up to date with events down Ibrox way, has once again, come to fruition!! I sense another book on the horizon!
Once again, thanks for all your revelations, and insights, and I look forward to your thoughts on post-Admin 2!
Cheers
Jonny
Well done Phil, spot on. If Ashley strikes now whilst most of the ST is at the bank the consequences could be grave.
I wonder if Close Bros has first dibs on the ST revenues in the event of a large damages bill from SD?
Elite and Hummel must be wondering how the hell they got caught up in this clusterfuck and how they are going to exit themselves from the situation.
I think I read somewhere that Rangers had given Elite and Hummel guarantees that whatever happens then the Ibrox club will take them out of the firing line.
Remember those heady days when the media were dismissive of the pennies that Rangers were making from every pound of merchandising sales?
Now it looks as if the new contract is actually going to cost them money, big money?
I wonder who the bright spark was that read the small print in the SD agreement?
Is he still on the premises?
Don’t worry Don’t worry DAVE’S GOT A PLAN LISTEN,,,,,, OW WELL
Was reading the stuff JMcH has put up and the link to their shitty fans forum.
I’m hoping that new legislation on the use of plastic straws comes into force soon, they sure have bundles over there.
Some of the suggestions are creative I’ll give em that.
1. Let’s chat to Elite, get them to pretend they’re offering a deal for 95% and see SD walk away.
2. Lets get Hummell to create a new strip in collaboration with the fans and we’ll buy the lot cutting SD out.
3. Let’s do more pop up shops ourselves, we order all the kits from Hummell and send the money in a big brown envelope to Ibrokes.
4. Let’s boycott again.
The list goes on and is comedy gold.
RAOTFLMFAO
Did you see point 94. If the injunction is granted they will lose significant revenue and be open to legal action from elite and rangers ability to function as a football club will be impaired.
Oh ma sides 😂😂😂😂
We shouldn’t laugh at this major decision and it’s ramification for the Newco. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
CandyArse for £500,000, hahahahahahahahahahahaha. HH
£300k
I sincerely hope they have a add-on clause with the Turkish club, otherwise they stand to lose out on…. about 100 Turkish Lira!!
What if they don’t qualify for the Europa league group stages?
Personally i think he’s a snip at £300,000. I think he’s the only genuine footballer on their books.
Your getting carried away, the sun are reporting the fee was only £250,000
Don’t worry about the money Cause Dave’s got a plan there’s money in watching your car mr and all that stuff plus Dave the merchandise king got loads Discounts stuff and the stuff from the Brighton Barra Boys the stuff with the arrows pointing up and down, MERRY CHRISTMAS HH
Been a long time coming, I remember reading way back when this charade started that you believed the “Devil is in the detail” so wee pat on the back from yours truly.
I also hear the Douglas Park has been instructed to sell his cars decision and that the bank has effectively been running his business, oh my effing God.
We who sit on the green side of the fence have a question though.
CG created a company to run a club. What happens if that company goes under due to the punitive damages in the post?
Will said company be forced to sell its assets to meet those demands? I’d like that, sell off their dross and let the boys in to play for SG. He’s that fucking dumb it wouldn’t surprise me if he hung about.
There are so many questions and variables my breath is…bbbbbated
Many years ago, there was a guy that stood next to Mark’s & Spencer on Glasgow’s Argyle Street, who would entice the more athletic members of the city’s population with enthusiastic cries of “errasportssocks, threefurrapound… threefurrapound-a!”
Who’d have thought that, in the very near future, he would be running his business empire from the environs of Ibrox Stadium! Who knows?.. perhaps his enterprise will have a pop-up shop outside a nearby pub, and he will strike a deal with Dave King, whereby this enterprise is run on a profit-sharing basis?? The “negative equity” at sevco would be wiped out almost instantaneously, if you work on the assumption that the Big Bang to the present day is measured on a timescale of mere minutes. I’m guessing they will be financially on course to turn in a modest profit in about a week, using that same timescale.
I think Mark Carney’s job as Governor at the Bank of England is pretty safe for the moment. No need for the man to stress himself out, worrying that Dave King is about to wrest control of the country’s finances. 🤣
‘Come now, Steven, it’s time to put your crayons away for the day …’
Oh, and by the way, it was ‘ThreePERRfurrapound!’
After all, who’d buy three socks?
Yourself excepted ..?
You REALLY DO come across as an obnoxious, arrogant dick!
Think he’s on the wrong forum- or medication.
Shhhhhh!… dont let everybody know that the wee guy was selling sports socks, with a free willie-warmer!!
Think he’s got one??