Rangers fans have again called for clarity after it emerged businessman Sandy Easdale has tightened his grip on the Ibrox club.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the League 1 champions revealed the McGill’s bus owner had increased his stake to more than 26%, cementing his position as its single largest shareholder. The 45-year-old now owns three million shares in Rangers PLC, and also controls the voting rights for a further 14 million.
Fanzine editor Mark Dingwall last night called on Easdale and the board to tell the fans who really controls the club. He said: “Mr Easdales’s stake is relatively small in itself.
“What’s more concerning is the proxy votes he holds and who is behind them. It appears it is the same people who conducted the activities of Charles Green and Imran Ahmad. This is obviously a worry to all Rangers fans.”
Dingwall, who runs Follow Follow fanzine, said the dire state of the club should not be under-estimated. He added: “Going forward we need to see honesty and openness at Ibrox. What is clearly needed is a massive cash injection to get Rangers back on its proper footing.
“I think the fact that the club has been so badly run, the fact that it has lost the ability to collect season ticket money, tells you just how desperate the situation has become. It needs to be rectified quickly and the current board have shown themselves to be incompetent and incapable of change.”
But despite the ongoing fiasco, Dingwall insists South African-based businessman Dave King will not be put off.
He said: “Mr King is clearly committed to the club long term and he will take his time to get it right.
Accountant and pension fund manager David Somers has bought his first stake in Rangers, six months after becoming the club’s non-executive chairman. On Thursday he bought 35,000 shares at 24p a share.
Rangers made a loss of £3.5m for the six months to December 2013, heightening fears over their financial security. But financial experts have pointed to increased confidence among investors despite a report revealing the club spent £70m of its reserves in two years.
In April, Mr Easdale admitted that circumstances at the Ibrox club are “fragile”.
He also suggested that season ticket renewals had been slow, and that the coming months would be vital for the club.
Mr Easdale admitted that uncertainty has had an effect on sales at Ibrox, saying: “At the end of the day, the club is at a crossroads at the moment and a fragile position.
“It can either go forward with a strategic view, with a long-term view, steady as she goes, or be pulled apart in other directions.”
Fans’ groups the Blue Order and Union Bears have already announced they will not be renewing their season tickets this summer.
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