Rangers Report Financial Losses

Photo by Jeff Holmes Rangers have reported a loss of £2.6million - before "finance costs" - for the second half of last year. The club have reported the figures to the London Stock Exchange, despite trading in their shares being suspended, and despite the club having no auditor. Interim chairman Paul Murray revealed Deloitte had quit as auditors last year but the club had not announced the fact. Murray and his fellow board members took over in March following a shareholder vote and are still trying to get to grips with the club's contractual obligations. The figures show operating expenses of £16.1million and revenue of £13.1million, a sum hit by a significant drop in season ticket numbers, which were 24,589. Murray said in a statement: "These results are historical and relate to a period before the new board took office. "I wish to draw shareholders' attention to the fact that these interim results have been reviewed by Jeffreys Henry LLP. I have been informed by Deloitte, the existing auditor, that they informed the previous Board of their intention to resign following the June 2014 audit. "The previous board chose not to announce this nor did they find a replacement for Deloitte. "With limited time to have these results reviewed the board asked Jeffreys Henry to perform the exercise as independent reporting accountants, not auditors."

Murray revealed the club were working towards getting to the "very top" of Scottish football and in regular European competition by 2022 - the 150th anniversary of when Rangers were first formed. He said: "The new directors have been in place only a matter of weeks but have already started to repair the damage caused through recent years of neglect and disrespect for this club, its people and its history. "The mismanagement of the club in recent years has been simply staggering." Murray said they would present a medium to long-term funding plan in the "very near future" after plugging gaps short term by borrowing £1.5million from the so-called Three Bears - shareholders George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park. The previous Rangers board borrowed £3million from Mike Ashley, the lender latterly being switched to the Newcastle owner's Sports Direct firm. Murray added: "This funding will be provided by existing and new investors who now want to invest in the club. "Thereafter, the club must quickly become self-sustaining and absolutely free from the kind of funding crises which have plagued Rangers in recent years." Murray added that fans would have "full and meaningful boardroom representation and their voice will be heard". The chairman - who is standing in while Dave King seeks clearance from the football and stock exchange authorities - added that they would take their time over a permanent managerial appointment after giving Stuart McCall the job for the rest of the season. "Stuart jumped at the challenge without fear or hesitation and that tells us a lot about the calibre of the man but even so, we cannot rush into making a final decision on the permanent position because the success of everything we are planning behind the scenes will depend almost entirely on the team's ability to compete at the very top," he said. "Only 13 men have held the position of Rangers Manager so we have a duty to take whatever time is necessary to find the right man. We would expect Stuart to be a strong candidate in that process." Murray stated that a major emphasis of their 2022 vision would be on the "neglected" areas of player identification and development.