Rangers: Mike Ashley ally Sandy Easdale increases stake

Sandy Easdale, chairman of the Rangers football board, has increased his stake in the company to 6.45 per cent.

 

The businessman now owns a total of 5.3m ordinary shares in Rangers International Football Club after purchasing just over 1m at a price of 1p per ordinary share on Friday.

 

Easdale also has the proxies and voting rights to a further 16m shares owned by other shareholders that make up around 19.7 per cent of the company.

 

Easdale is seen as an ally of Mike Ashley, whose influence on the club has irked Rangers fans. Ashley, who owns Newcastle United, has offered to loan Rangers £10m but only with securities on their Ibrox stadium given in return.

 

His move to increase his grip on the club is likely to further anger supporters who staged a large-scale protest outside Ibrox on Friday night, chanting against the board and Ashley.

 

Rangers, who do not currently have enough capital to cover costs until the end of the month, are the subject of an intense tussle for control from a number of parties.

 

Easdale’s move to increase his stake in the company came as businessman Dave King, who owns 15 per cent of shares in Rangers, attempted to whip up support for a bid to oust the club’s current board.

 

King and a consortium of three wealthy Rangers supporters – known as the “Three Bears” – own around 34 per cent of the club together and are trying to build an anti-board coalition to oust the current board of directors which includes James Easdale, David Somers and Ashley associates Derek Llambias and Barry Leach.