Rangers will hold a general meeting next month and directors could use the event to try and block Newcastle owner Mike Ashley from voting on Ibrox matters. The club have released a circular saying a meeting has been requisitioned at the request of Ashley’s MASH Holdings Limited to answer questions on why Rangers no longer trade on the AIM stock exchange. Sports Direct owner Ashley also previously called on the club to allow shareholders to decide whether the club should repay a £5m loan from the sportswear firm. MASH also want to know what steps were taken to appoint a new nominated advisor prior to the club delisting from AIM and under what terms a £1.5m loan was provided by Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor.
Dave King was announced as Rangers chairman last week after been deemed a fit and proper person to be involved in the club by the SFA He and his allies swept to power at Ibrox in March. King’s board hit back with their own proposals for the meeting with Rangers threatening to put forward a new club rule which would effectively prevent Ashley voting, by ensuring that no one who falls foul of SFA rules on dual influence would have voting rights. Ashley incurred sanctions after he was ruled by the governing body to be holding a dual interest in Newcastle and the Ibrox side, in breach of their rules.
The circular said: "raise with shareholders the recent penalties imposed on the Club in respect of the Scottish FA disciplinary rules 1 and 19. As a result of these penalties and to prevent a situation where further breaches of these rules could trigger severe sanctions on the Club, the Directors are considering incorporating disciplinary rule 19 into the Articles of Association of the Company and disapplying voting rights in respect of any shareholding(s) which breach these rules. The Directors will update shareholders at the meeting as to why they believes this step is necessary, the potential effect of any further breach of these rules and the timetable for presenting a resolution for shareholders’ consideration."
The board also say they will aim to "provide shareholders with a breakdown of the income received by Rangers Retail Limited". Ashley's Sports Direct is a 75 percent shareholder in RRL. However, they pointed out that Sports Direct has confidentiality deals in place which could impact on that.
The board also proposed a resolution which would see them given backing to renegotiate their contracts with Sports Direct. The resolution reads: "That the shareholders support the directors of the company in their desire to ensure that the contractual arrangements between the club and various members of the Sports Direct group of companies are renegotiated on a basis that is fair and reasonable for both parties and will deliver best value to both the club and Sports Direct. The shareholders agree that these negotiations need to address the whole relationship between the club and Sports Direct in order to achieve that goal."