Kieran Prior has thrown his weight behind Dave King

[ian1964 10,381]

Ibrox investor Kieran Prior has thrown his weight behind Dave King's Rangers revolution

 

THE former Goldman Sachs trader will meet the South African tycoon in London next week to discuss his plans to shake-up the boardroom at the beleaguered club.

 

 

 

IBROX investor Kieran Prior has thrown his weight behind Dave King’s Rangers revolution.

 

Prior will meet the South African tycoon in London next week – and reckons other major shareholders are ready to back his agenda for change.

 

The former Goldman Sachs trader’s support of King comes as the ex-pat prepares to fly to the UK, vowing he will not leave until he comes up with a “definite game plan” for the future of the Ibrox club.

 

Prior said: “Dave and I have spoken and I want to support his objectives for the club. He has asked to meet me in London next week for further talks to find the best way forward for Rangers.

 

“I’ve talked with investors who hold significant stakes in the club and it’s my belief they are ready to back Dave’s vision for the future.

 

“The board do not have the business acumen of Dave, nor his philanthropic approach to helping the club return to the top.”

 

Prior, a childhood Rangers fan, owns around 2.5 per cent of the club and has invested £1million in the last 12 months.

 

He is keen to invest more and is willing to take a financial hit on his existing shareholding if it helps the club back on its feet. He added: “In order for us to have a club at all we need a stable board and management structure and an ongoing supply of capital.

 

“If that means a new rights issue then it means a new rights issue. If I have to dilute my shareholding for the good of the club then it’s no big deal. We may not need a shares issue but I’d rather have one if it safeguards the club.”

 

Former director King, 58, urged fans last week to withhold season-ticket cash and hand it over to the club on a game-by-game basis.

 

King, who lost £20m under Sir David Murray, decided he could no longer watch from the sidelines and claimed the current board, led by chairman David Somers, were burying their heads in the sand.

 

He said: “I know they are running out of money, hence my approach to them late last year.

 

“I said then, ‘It’s now early enough to anticipate you will not make the end of the year on your current cash balances so let’s try to go about a new fundraising exercise’.

 

“I was happy to be a significant investor, in fact a leader of a consortium putting new funds into the club with the only condition they went into the club. I wasn’t interested in taking on existing shareholders and buying their shares.

 

“I was looking for a new share issue and for those funds to go into the club but they have adopted a ‘Nero fiddling while Rome burns’ approach.

 

“The board has done nothing, has not been transparent with the finance and we now know they have run out of funds and are trying to shuffle on hoping the fans will again rescue them.

 

“They are looking for money for season tickets so they can continue for another couple of months before another financial crisis. That is what I am trying to avert.

 

“The board has said my intentions are damaging but the opposite is true. The board should go to the fans and say, ‘This is the true state of the position at the club’.

 

“I will meet the board. I will visit the institutions in London next week and put a schedule together with some of the existing shareholders to find out where they are and how they feel about a rights issue.

 

“I will stay in Scotland for as long as it takes until we have a definite game plan.”

 

Meanwhile, King has rejected claims from Sandy Easdale he never held talks with the transport boss about putting new funds into the club.

 

King said: “I subsequently spoke with Sandy and he has confirmed he intended his comment to be construed as meaning I had never offered loan finance to the club.

 

“He is correct. I have only offered equity finance. I do not believe the club can afford debt at this time.

 

“I accept his statement was a misunderstanding and he was not intending to impugn my integrity.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ibrox-investor-kieran-prior-thrown-3212193

[Anchorman 0]

The tide turning King's way? And another very diplomatic olive branch held out to Mr Easdale in the process (to avoid Easdale looking like a complete liar).

[Darthter 542]

Things looking better for King IMHO.....he now appears to be grabbing the bull by the horns, and forcing things forward.

 

If he can gain support from various high end investors, he may be able to force through change.

[Stefanovitch 0]

Didn't Prior suggest before the AGM he'd vote with the requisitioners but then changed his mind?

[JTP 0]

We've seen charges like this before (McCollco etc) however i feel this one may have the most promise yet. I can only hope.

[SteveC 150]

"childhood fan" - surely some mistake here? I thought he was a Man U fan from R.o.I. stock. (I am not saying that should debar him from Rangers, btw, but merely raising an eyebrow that we had young boys supporting us from that background at that time)

 

Anyway, this is a heartening quote: "In order for us to have a club at all we need a stable board and management structure and an ongoing supply of capital.

 

“If that means a new rights issue then it means a new rights issue. If I have to dilute my shareholding for the good of the club then it’s no big deal. We may not need a shares issue but I’d rather have one if it safeguards the club.”

 

And fingers crossed he is correct re other investors.

[Davie P 4]

Didn't Prior suggest before the AGM he'd vote with the requisitioners but then changed his mind?

 

I don't think so, iirc, he voted in favour of the board with the exception of Brian Stockbridge

[BlueMazza 0]

This is good. With all the initiatives & King's statements recently I'm feeling positive again. I'm sure the trauma isn't over yet, but we have a chance.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

a sensible investor will see the value in king using his cash to get us back to the top. even though it will mean less shares for them. or less share of the total pot actually.

 

it's only those who are making their money from outright theft that will oppose this.

[der Berliner 3,219]

I would assume once they all start talking with one another rather than about one another, it might come to a quicker change than we all expected. I do reckon that a few of the institutional investors will look for / demand a certain guarantee should a new share issue happen by (i.e. not diluting their sharehold too much), but can be dealt with. Once King talks to the people who put the current board in place ... and talks to the board chaps himself, things will become much clearer. So far, it all reeks of pre-election party-politics ... with the voters (i.e. us) left guessing.

 

As for Prior ... isn't it the case that he, as a minor-major shareholder can demand access to the books and see where money goes. Where his money goes. What the state of affairs is? Did he not get transparency when he first bought shares et al?