Big Rangers Administration/Liquidation Thread - All chat here!

[Macshimmy]

[aofjays]

Pink croc? Classy.

[williemillersmoustache]

Pink croc? Classy.

Leather banded padlocks are so in. LUSH!

[Macshimmy]

Do you mean like the sale to Green?

...and what exactly would happen if that happened?

If the case detailed in the herald goes for Whyte against Green, then 'new' company at the time of liquidation had the same owner as the 'old' one.

- that would make the liquidator's postition very difficult, I would think.

I don't think I quoted the whole thing - It is worth chewing over:

Whyte partner banned after probe into £2m asset switch

Martin Williams

Senior News Reporter

Saturday 17 May 2014

A BUSINESS partner of disgraced former Rangers owner Craig Whyte has been banned from being a director in Britain for five years.

CRAIG WHYTE: Came under fire during ownership of Rangers.

But in a rare move, Aiden Earley has been given sanction to remain for the time being as a director of Sevco 5088 Limited, the firm that bought the liquidated assets of Rangers oldco.

It is understood this is connected to his joint court battle with Mr Whyte as directors of Sevco 5088 over the ownership of Rangers.

It has emerged that the directorship ban for the 46-year-old came into force in February after a seven-month fight to clear his name with the Insolvency Service (IS).

The ban came after the IS found more than £2 million in assets were switched out of three companies on the same day and out of the possible clutches of creditors as they entered voluntary liquidation, to other firms he was in control of.

In October, last year, auditors Deloitte flagged up the legal battle over ownership, saying it was a key uncertainty hanging over the Ibrox business. Rangers have consistently said Mr Whyte's claims have no merit.

Mr Whyte has always insisted he was the main driver behind the Sevco 5088, the firm that bought the assets and business of RFC 2012 plc he had put into administration and is now in liquidation.

Days after the sale, the assets - which were bought for £5.5m in June 2012 - were transferred to a different company called Sevco Scotland, which then became The Rangers Football Club.

Mr Whyte's main argument is that the transfer was illegal and Sevco 5088 remained the rightful owner of the club's assets.

Forms lodged with Companies House that appear to show Mr Whyte and Mr Earley were directors of Sevco 5088 were referred to police by legal firm Pinsent Masons.

Former Rangers chief executive Charles Green, who fronted the Sevco consortium, denied in April last year that Mr Whyte or Mr Earley were involved in Sevco 5088 and said the documents were not valid.

But Mr Whyte produced recordings of a conversation between the pair, where Mr Green admitted he had told him: "You are Sevco, that's what we are saying."

Documents relating to Mr Whyte and Mr Earley's directorship remain lodged in Companies House.

The IS confirmed that while the directorship ban is in force, Mr Earley is allowed to remain as a director of Sevco 5088 Limited, a position expected to be reviewed in August.

Mr Earley, who as a teenager was dubbed ­Goldfinger in the City as investors believed he had the Midas touch, was made personally bankrupt in 1989 with debts of around £1m.

He had been linked to Whyte and Rangers, initially through a bizarre tie-up with the Surrey non-league football club Banstead Athletic, which he sponsored through his business Regenesis, and which was mooted as the site for a possible feeder academy for Rangers.

In February 2002 the club ­chairman and owner Terry Molloy, who confirmed he and Mr Earley were having discussions about being joint owners, denied receiving a £250,000 payment from Rangers, after the transaction was flagged up by the club's administrators.

"Aiden Earley has an interest in Banstead. Where any money comes from I don't know: you would have to ask him," Mr Molloy said at the time.

According to IS documents, investigators found that the assets switch on three companies Wood Hall Realisations Ltd, C4E Realisations Limited and Set Meals Realisations Limited resulted in creditors losing over £2m.

[bennett]

Oh great another MacGilligans Island blog by Densboy...

Edited May 19, 2014 by bennett

[Macshimmy]

so many jackals ... If the sale from Sevco 5088 to Sevco Scotland is deemed to be null, then the new owners of the assets would be this mob:

Commenting on the Company’s prospects for 2014 Chief Executive Officer Doug Ware said, ‘As we enter our 60th year as a listed company it appears that the global economy is recovering with sustained growth now in the UK. I am pleased that we will soon be seeking to lift the suspension of our shares and we expect to be making an exciting series of announcements of new ventures in property, the media sector as well as further developments regarding our current portfolio. We have active discussions with new partners both in the UK and internationally where we will be targeting our efforts in looking for high growth opportunities in emerging markets. I’m hopeful that 2014 will be a good year for Worthington’.

About Worthington Group Plc ("Worthington")

Worthington (LSE:WRN) is a British investment company that this year celebrates its 60th anniversary as a London Stock Exchange main market listed company. The company has five areas of investment focus: traditional manufacturing, property, litigation claims, new economy and emerging markets.

In particular Worthington believes that extraordinary shareholder returns can be achieved by expanding its high return litigation portfolio and by acquiring tangible assets in areas of the world that are currently out of favour. By offering to purchase these assets in exchange for its London Stock Exchange fully listed Sterling paper, Worthington believes that temporarily illiquid assets can be acquired for a fraction of their face value or ultimate worth once conditions improve.

Douglas Ware, CEO Worthington Group Plc.

END

That was their most recent statement to the Stock Exchange. This is their website, so you can find out all about them:

http://worthingtongroupplc.com/

[Macshimmy]

how do the fans break through this wall and change things, they can't, is it their fault for this?.

Easy! Just buy shares in Worthington grp PLC*, currently available at a knock-down price:

*Okay, so there is a little gossip on the markets about a small irregularity in the pension fund they manage (£3m missing)

but if they win their case against Green, you are a shareholder in the company who owns the assets! (subject to further litigation)

[AberdeenBud]

Aye, very good Umbungo, that's the best i've heard about Whyte," he stepped up to the plate", very good indeed and top marks to you for such inventiveness. Rather more realistic is the fact he was in it solely for himself, not anyone else, irrespective of what damage he did too many. But hey as i said top marks for inventiveness.

Still never sure if you're being facetious or trying to make up for your own error of judgement on Whyte, but the vitriol you reserve for him alone is misguided and laughable.

He was handed the controls of a runway train and the options he had were extremely limited, liquidation was already inevitable at that point, imo.

[Macshimmy]

i see whyte's history for taking over failing businesses and stripping/selling the assets and hiding any profit has been quickly forgotten.

not that that happened of course

not yet:

Craig Whyte stands to make £8.5m if he wins lawsuit in battle for Rangers' assets

By Ewing Grahame

7:00AM BST 23 Apr 2013

Last week Worthington Group plc purchased 26 per cent of Law Financial Ltd, one of Whyte’s

companies and one which, crucially, claims to have Sevco 5088 as one of its subsidiaries. Included

among Law Financial’s assets is the legal action instigated by Whyte against Charles Green for the

claim on Rangers’ assets.

Whyte claims that Green, who resigned as Rangers chief executive on Friday, had acted as a front

man for him – through the vehicle of Sevco 5088 – so that he could retain control of Rangers.

The club’s administrators, Duff & Phelps, who were appointed by Whyte in February of last year,

revealed in the CVA proposal lodged with the Court of Session in Edinburgh three months later that

they had signed an exclusive agreement with Sevco 5088, which would see that firm own the club’s

assets – including Ibrox and the Murray Park training complex – should the CVA fail, as it was

bound to do.

Whyte recently released documents bearing Green’s signature, confirming Whyte and his associate,

Adrian Earley, as directors of Sevco 5088.

Green insisted, in a television interview, that neither man was connected with Sevco 5088. A

statement on the Rangers website on April 12 stated that Green was the sole director of Sevco 5088

and that he had resigned to become the founder director of Sevco Scotland Ltd, the company to

which he transferred Rangers’ assets once the CVA had failed.

Yet he was still registered as a director of Sevco 5088 on Monday, according to Companies House,

in spite of instructing his lawyers, Field Fisher Waterhouse, to have the company struck off.

Indeed, in a statement to the AIM Stock Exchange on Monday, Rangers admitted that they had

omitted to include a total of 21 directorships held by Green and the club’s finance director Brian

Stockbridge in the admission document they produced prior to the share issue late last year.

They also claimed that Sevco 5088 was a subsidiary of Rangers International Football Club, the

holding company which owns the assets.

This brings us back to Worthington Group plc, which has the option of purchasing a 100 per cent

stake in Law Financial Limited, which also owns Whyte’s recently founded companies Law Capital

Ltd, Litigation Capital Ltd and Media Litigation Ltd, by Oct 31.

Should they choose to trigger that option, they are contractually obliged to pay Whyte £1 million in

unsecured convertible loan notes.Whyte would also be due one third of the proceeds of any assets,

claims or rights owned by his companies, including the legal action against Green.

Worthington Group Ltd is a professional litigation company and, if its court action is successful, it

will either end up owning Rangers or the consortium will be forced to pay £22 million.

The original investors – Green, Ahmad, Stockbridge and the rest – exchanged their ownership of the

Rangers subsidiary for shares in the plc worth £22 million.

That is what Worthington Group value the club at and, should they acquire the assets, then Whyte

will collect another £7.33 million. Further, if Rangers lose to Worthington, then everyone who invested in

the share issue will end up with nothing.

As well as the document signed by Green, Whyte has also leaked tape recorded conversations

between himself, Earley and Green in which the latter told Whyte:

“You are Sevco, that’s what we’re saying.”

Green later claimed that he had told Whyte what he wanted to hear in order to gain control of his

shareholding and boasted of having “shafted” the Scot.

Whyte’s argument is that he and Earley never consented to the subsequent transfer of Rangers’

assets to Sevco Scotland Ltd and that Green had no right to assume ownership of them.

Ironically, Green, although he is no longer chief executive, remains a director of RIFC. While he is

also technically a director of Sevco 5088 (which Rangers on Monday told the Stock Exchange they

owned), he would inadvertently appear to have a foot in both camps.

In yet another twist, in the most recent set of audited accounts published by Worthington Group plc

(for the year ending March 31, 2012) lists the company’s solicitors as Field Fisher Waterhouse.

Edit - Field Fisher Waterhouse!

I didn't understand that bit, so I googled it - They are the stockbroker who valued RIFC at 22m for the IPO,

it's that figure which determines what Worthington/Whyte get in the event of them winning the case.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Macshimmy

[aofjays]

i'll go as far back as McLeish and the duds he signed and had on daft wages and then during plg's time and finally when walter came back and had no money to spend on quality and had to make do in europe with negative tactics and a limited squad of semi decent journeymen.

still it was enough to beat celtic to the title 3 times out of 5 and a half seasons under walter.

Are you actually boasting about titles won by cheating?

[Henrik's tongue]

As things stand at the moment I am not going back. I am certainly not going back to Ibrox on a regular basis or anything like it. I am absolutely disgusted with those who have renewed and tbh i don't want to share the same stadium as them. They are welcome to the club. I know one supporter who renewed and keeps saying it doesn't matter if Green and Whyte make money or get the stadium because if it wasn't for them there would be no Rangers.

I may go to the odd away game but right now i just feel empty and completely fed up with the whole sorry fiasco. Was talking about it earlier to a well known Rangers supporter who like me hasn't missed a game at Ibrox in years..Once i have missed that first one and broken the run it will be much easier to find other things to fill my time.

When this has all played out i cant see it really changing the way i feel. It will never be the same again...I always felt part of the support and part of the 'Rangers Family' but no more. I ll miss it of course to start with but i am sure i ll carry on with my life regardless. My missus is about to graduate as a Midwife and i had said i ll move anywhere as long as it is no further than two hours drive from Ibrox..I think it is safe to say we can move anywhere in the country now..I believe North Yorkshire is nice this time of year.

No knee jerk reaction...Wont be changing my mind...Just a life long Rangers supporter who has been completely worn down by the whole sorry saga.

You can come along to Celtic Park with me, my friend.

Your Grandchildren will be Celtic fans any way

[bennett]

Still never sure if you're being facetious or trying to make up for your own error of judgement on Whyte, but the vitriol you reserve for him alone is misguided and laughable.

He was handed the controls of a runway train and the options he had were extremely limited, liquidation was already inevitable at that point, imo.

You have to be at the wind up here lol

[bennett]

Any hope of surviving and making a profit was kicked to death by Ally when he ensured there was no CL group stages ... simply the best.

Densboy conveniently forgets about Whyte and his Ticketus deal.

[Bloomogganners]

Any hope of surviving and making a profit was kicked to death by Ally when he ensured there was no CL group stages ... simply the best.

Yup http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/14321323 when it became inevitable.

http://www.isdx.com/infostore/Company-Accounts/RangersFootball/rangers2010.pdf

[AberdeenBud]

Huh?

A runaway train that made a profit in the year before he took over?

He could have slashed costs, he had the opportunity but gambled on Europe, this was his gamble, he was driving the train, not saying the alternative would have been popular but to suggest he had no control is wrong.

You have to be at the wind up here lol

Afraid not.

I think the reaction to the kind of cuts necessary would have been so vitriolic it was basically not an option on the table.

Your fans can't even accept a sensible, sustainable approach to spending now despite being liquidated, what the hell makes you think they would have 3 years ago.

Lloyds and Minty may have been the main drivers of the train, but Whyte was brought in to do a job, a job which he did. Minty's ego wouldn't accept him being the man who took Rangers into admin so someone else who didn't care was brought in for the final few stops before the train ground to a halt.

If Rangers were on the road to recovery why did they sell for a pound? Because they were already completely fucked at that stage.

[AberdeenBud]

Densboy conveniently forgets about Whyte and his Ticketus deal.

That was one the best things he did for Rangers . 20 odd million which the club have never, nor had no intention to, paid back.

[BossHogg]

Whats the latest? (For people who cant be arsed wading through the endless repetitive crap on this thread) thanks.

[AberdeenBud]

again, when did the fans have any say on how the club is run?

is there any evidence that the fans pushed the club to the brink through expectation and demands while david murray was in charge?

surely if the club had shown clarity and transparency when the problems first became apparent during dm's time the majority although reluctant would have accepted it had cuts been had to be made to ensure the club came through a difficult time.

all you are doing is pressuming what rangers fans think and making out what the fans thought had any influence on how the club was run.

We deserve better.

[nsr]

If it had meant losing the ability to compete with Celtic, there's no way the vast majority of the Rangers support would have accepted the cuts necessary.

[aDONisSheep]

Still believes in the Murray accountancy methods ... says it all really.

In fairness, I don't think there was anything wrong with Murray's accountancy.

There was something wrong with his business plan.

As Tedi pointed out, DeadRangers had indeed made a profit in the year to 2010.

However I think it is more informative if you consider that the impact that had, was to reduce the cumulative loss to £135.8m. (yep, that's a cumulative LOSS of £135.8m, despite DeadRangers domestic duopoly and Champions League monies).

Yours

aDONis