Kieran Prior buys 1.5% of RFC

[the gunslinger 3,366]

 

it doesn't take a genius to see that.

[54andcounting 0]

THE former City of London whizzkid claims the current Ibrox board have got it wrong paying big salaries and hefty bonuses to executives.

 

 

IBROX investor Kieran Prior claims the revival of Rangers is being strangled by extravagant levels of executive pay.

 

The former City of London whizzkid has already been doing his homework, less than 24 hours after Record Sport revealed he had forked out around £400,000 to snap up 1.2 per cent of the club.

 

In his first major interview, Prior says the current Ibrox board have got it wrong when it comes to paying big salaries and hefty bonuses to executives such as finance boss Brian Stockbridge.

 

The 34-year-old, who admits to a friendship with ousted chairman Malcolm Murray, says greater corporate governance is key and the board must consider reconstruction if Rangers are to emerge as a force again.

 

The former Goldman Sachs trader is also calling for greater fan representation at boardroom level as he admitted to fears the £22million raised by the recent share issue is in danger of being squandered over time.

 

Prior said: “I’m still waiting on a copy of the full accounts but from the papers I’ve seen in the last 24 hours executive renumeration is approximately £1.5m.

 

“I have good faith those figures are real and I’ll stand by those quotes.

 

“I find it astonishing a club in the Third Division has paid that amount of money to memb wers of staff, including Mr Stockbridge.

 

“As a former banker I know the basic salary of managing directors on trading desks range from £100,000-£300,000.

 

“That’s in London and at Goldman Sachs, one of the most profitable institutions in the world and yet I see Mr Stockbridge and Charles Green have taken similar salaries from Rangers.

 

“Although Mr Stockbridge is finance director he is a chartered accountant by academic standards.

 

“He is earning in excess of £200,000, which is overvaluing your FD – and when bonuses match your salary, that seems ludicrous.

 

“I can see the argument for a chief executive, but why the hell should a bonus be paid for winning the Third Division to the FD? It would seem exploitative in nature, at best.

 

“We’re in a unique position at Rangers where we can grow the club and a stockpile of wealth so when we reach the pinnacle of the Scottish game again there is an opportunity to go straight back where we belong – at the top, nowhere else.

 

“I’m afraid money is being dwindled away, given the figures being bandied about.”

 

It is understood bonuses were paid to two executives – Stockbridge and Green pocketing around £550,000.

 

The Rangers board has been ridden with in-fighting over the last year and Walter Smith was forced to step in and become chairman last month in a bid to quell tensions between warring factions

 

Prior added: “The current board seems a very legacy-ridden, Charles Green affair.

 

"That’s not to say Charles Green didn’t do some good things, but we need to move forward.

 

“We must make the club financially sound for the fans especially, as well as other shareholders. We need to rebuild the board and take a city-friendly, corporate governance-laden approach.

 

“Walter Smith aside, as he is untouchable and an institution in himself, we must clean up the act of the board.

 

Unless we can change its constitution and give it a more corporate friendly base, I can see struggle occurring.

 

“That would only detract from a great opportunity. We have time on our side to work under the radar these next couple of years and rebuild finances on the back of the sixth biggest attendances in Britain.

 

“We can build up our youth academy, our team and hopefully get back to the top of the Scottish game and playing in Europe again.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ibrox-investor-kieran-prior-claims-1954019?

[Super Cooper 0]

Worrying, very worrying.

[der Berliner 3,245]

While we all agree that these chaps get too much (if they actually receive all the bonus payment), it isn't Rhetard-unlike to pick on this and make a club-shaking world-ending issue of it. An absolute newcomer to the world of football business has a look, notices something strange and says a few words about it ... hey, here's a story! I would assume that most if not all Rangers people in the same positions received as much money as the current crop, if not more. And no, at 10k a week they were "not guilty of our financial plight", as some will point out. What they may rightly point out that some did surely not a good enough job for such a wage. Prior will have to make himself accustomed to the world of football and if he wants to become the club's e.g. financial director and will gladly accempt less, no problem.

[craig 5,195]

While we all agree that these chaps get too much (if they actually receive all the bonus payment), it isn't Rhetard-unlike to pick on this and make a club-shaking world-ending issue of it. An absolute newcomer to the world of football business has a look, notices something strange and says a few words about it ... hey, here's a story! I would assume that most if not all Rangers people in the same positions received as much money as the current crop, if not more. And no, at 10k a week they were "not guilty of our financial plight", as some will point out. What they may rightly point out that some did surely not a good enough job for such a wage. Prior will have to make himself accustomed to the world of football and if he wants to become the club's e.g. financial director and will gladly accempt less, no problem.

 

How do you know he is an "absolute newcomer" ? He was a trader for Goldman Sachs - chances are that he has analysed football club financial statements a number of times (depending on what type of trader he was for Goldman - equities vs fixed income vs derivatives etc) - so he may be far from a newcomer - just because he has only just bought into our club doesn't mean he doesn't know how the business side of the industry works.

 

Are you saying that our executives should get paid the same level of salaries as their predecessors ? Given their predecessors were dealing with higher levels of income, probably more sponsorship deals, European opponents and competitions, more complex transfer issues and more issues generally in attempting to remain competitive at the very top of Scottish football ?

 

I disagree.

 

You are OK with the finance director taking 500k a year out of the club ? On our current levels of income ? I reckon I could do Stockbridge's job fairly comfortably and, at his 500k level I would be happy to take an 80% paycut based on his numbers. That would be a saving to the club of 400k a year - even if I only stayed in the job 10 years that would be a 4 million quid saving over that period. Every penny of which would be beneficial to the club.

 

As Prior said, and quite rightly, Stockbridge is taking a benefits package which is competitive with London (lets not forget the cost of living in London is far greater - which means Stockbridge is immediately being overpaid) - but not only that, he is being competitive with corporate power houses like Goldman employees - Goldman is one of the most profitable institutions in the world so CAN afford those levels of pay - we are not even close to Goldman (now, admittedly, it isn't just about size and profitability in terms of what someone should get paid - but it should play a part in it).

 

Here we are complaining when a player gets paid more than 7k a week - but not even blinking when a back office executive is getting 10k a week. You couldn't make it up.

[craig 5,195]

While we all agree that these chaps get too much (if they actually receive all the bonus payment), it isn't Rhetard-unlike to pick on this and make a club-shaking world-ending issue of it. An absolute newcomer to the world of football business has a look, notices something strange and says a few words about it ... hey, here's a story! I would assume that most if not all Rangers people in the same positions received as much money as the current crop, if not more. And no, at 10k a week they were "not guilty of our financial plight", as some will point out. What they may rightly point out that some did surely not a good enough job for such a wage. Prior will have to make himself accustomed to the world of football and if he wants to become the club's e.g. financial director and will gladly accempt less, no problem.

 

How do you know he is an "absolute newcomer" ? He was a trader for Goldman Sachs - chances are that he has analysed football club financial statements a number of times (depending on what type of trader he was for Goldman - equities vs fixed income vs derivatives etc) - so he may be far from a newcomer - just because he has only just bought into our club doesn't mean he doesn't know how the business side of the industry works.

 

Are you saying that our executives should get paid the same level of salaries as their predecessors ? Given their predecessors were dealing with higher levels of income, probably more sponsorship deals, European opponents and competitions, more complex transfer issues and more issues generally in attempting to remain competitive at the very top of Scottish football ?

 

I disagree.

 

You are OK with the finance director taking 500k a year out of the club ? On our current levels of income ? I reckon I could do Stockbridge's job fairly comfortably and, at his 500k level I would be happy to take an 80% paycut based on his numbers. That would be a saving to the club of 400k a year - even if I only stayed in the job 10 years that would be a 4 million quid saving over that period. Every penny of which would be beneficial to the club.

 

As Prior said, and quite rightly, Stockbridge is taking a benefits package which is competitive with London (lets not forget the cost of living in London is far greater - which means Stockbridge is immediately being overpaid) - but not only that, he is being competitive with corporate power houses like Goldman employees - Goldman is one of the most profitable institutions in the world so CAN afford those levels of pay - we are not even close to Goldman (now, admittedly, it isn't just about size and profitability in terms of what someone should get paid - but it should play a part in it).

 

Here we are complaining when a player gets paid more than 7k a week - but not even blinking when a back office executive is getting 10k a week. You couldn't make it up.

[der Berliner 3,245]

Before you write yourself into a fit ...

 

- I was first commenting upon the way the DR snatched his words up and made an "explosive" story out of it.

- We know he worked for Goldman-Sax ... who whether we like it or not had major trouble with the credit crunch et al, something that send SDM's companies, HRBOS et al into chaos. So by default and in no way discrediting Prior's pedigree, I am bound to be wary.

- At any successful football club executives are paid quite "healthy" wages. Do I think that is fine or that we paid and pay such an amount of money? No, surely not. Do I expect Prior to know what other clubs or we pay these people? No. He may prove me wrong, of course.

- As for income ... we hardly have any real figures right now to judge us, I would assume. The major issue we may have is any TV income - but in Scotland that has been a "joke" for years anyway. European money is neat if it comes in, but cannot be budgeted for ... and if we did that in the past, bad enough. I vividly remember Bain stating in the early 2000s that we do not budget for Europe and any income is regarded as a bonus. What we did is shedding nigh all high-earners. Sure, we are a third tier club these days, but we are still Rangers and still draw 40odd thousand per matchday, PUMA as our kit sponsor and may well get a stadium naming rights deal.

 

As I stated, if we can do all our work with less money, no probem. I am as much open to Prior as I was with Green. I do not really mind his past, but I mind what he does for Rangers. Jury's out, as they say.

[craig 5,195]

I believe you are wrong. Goldman Sachs didn't have major troubles during the credit crunch - in fact, they had $4 billion in PROFIT by short-selling the sub-prime market - I wouldn't mind some of that crisis. The only issues that Goldman had during the financial crisis was that their traders were blamed for causing it by short selling (which is a legal technique) - the only other issue they had was being pressured into buying some of the other stricken institutions - so, you are wrong about Goldman - they dropped in stock price but so did pretty much everything - they have more than bounced back from the systemic market drops in share price.

 

So you can be wary all you like, but you are wrong in terms of Goldman during the crisis - they traded well through the whole ordeal. Wasn't necessarily due to Prior but if your caution is due to Goldman it is unfounded - Goldman is STILL considered the pre-eminent investment bank globally.

 

The way you wrote your previous message did NOT look like you were picking at the media, it looks like a statement from you and your assumption.

 

Successful football club ? You don't pay wages on prior history, or you shouldn't. Not at a football club. We were in the 3rd division - how much do other 3rd division CEO's. CFO's get paid ? I am being a touch facetious, but you shouldn't be comparing our executives salaries with other clubs, salary should be commensurate with the job they do and have some relationship to the revenues or profits of the business. I suspect you are WRONG again with this too. Clubs such as Man United and Spurs are listed on the stock exchange and, as such, have obligations to make public the benefits packages of their executives (unless I am mistaken). Regards our club, I suspect that given the comments attributed to him since his purchase that he has been provided with some level of financial information which allows him to make the comments he made.

 

Any organization should be paying attention to its income - if you don't, and you overpay employees, you wont last long. So "hardly any real figures to judge us" is wrong. We KNOW what our annual income was last year and it should have been budgeted for - in fact, once the club set the ST price they should have been forecasting income anyway - and, truth be told, those forecasts should have been conservative as even Charles Green wouldn't have expected such large numbers at Ibrox every other week. So the executives should have known what the revenues would be, conservatively, and should have been paying themselves accordingly.

 

Even if our Revenues were, say, 30 million (which I doubt they were) that means we have paid our CEO and CFO 5% of turnover - you think that is reasonable ? I don't. If you are comfortable with that and are OK with it continuing then we can chat the next time we hit administration again. paying TWO executives 5% of the clubs revenue is idiocy, especially when you consider that we also have players that need paid, and they get that amount too......

 

Using European money is a red herring - the club should be budgeting based on CURRENT income anyway. We draw 40 odd thousand, but on REDUCED prices, therefore reduced income. What relevance is PUMA as our match sponsor ? Any figures from them, unless significantly greater than the deal with Umbro, should already have been built into the forecasts - and it will already be accounted for too. The stadium naming rights hasn't happened so that too is an unknown and almost irrelevant. Further, unless it is a short term deal then it is a single cash injection to the club, not a recurring one - if we are relying on that then the CFO isn't doing his job properly. Also, I doubt the CFO has contributed significantly in securing any stadium naming rights deal.

 

Trust me, you could get somebody every bit as good as Stockbridge for a FRACTION of the cost. Of that I am certain.

Edited June 15, 2013 by craig

[sannybear 0]

I wonder if Mr Stockbridge is having regrets about taking his video now ? .

[aftershock 0]

Sounds like Prior is a friend of Malcolm Murray and has got Stockbridge in his sights!