Singapore businessman confirms he is behind bid for Rangers

The 52-year-old, who is a director at private equity firm Financial Frontiers, told the Straits Times that he is one of a "handful of Singaporeans from the financial industry" involved in the bid.

Another of the three bids being examined by administrators Duff & Phelps is led by US tycoon Bill Miller. Mr Miller made his fortune through a towing and recovery equipment firm, but a source admitted he is "not a big soccer fan".

However, the head of Tennessee-based Miller Industries, the world's largest manufacturer of towing and recovery equipment, has built a reputation in business circles of "resurrecting dead giants".

The third group still in the running are the Blue Knights led by former Rangers director Paul Murray. A fourth submitted by Wednesday's deadline, by a German sports company, has been rejected by Duff & Phelps.

The full extent of the club's debts were revealed on Thursday, when a report by Duff & Phelps said the club could owe £134m. Read it here

The bid by Mr Ng's Singapore-based consortium marks the second time investors from the wealthy city-state have attempted to buy a British football club. Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim in 2010 attempted unsuccessfully to buy Liverpool for 320m pounds.

Mr Ng told the Straits Times: "This is a chance to put Singapore on the world football map...we're not just doing this for financial reasons. If we take over Rangers, we've got plans that will positively impact Singapore football in the long run... Our population size is quite similar to Scotland's so there's plenty for us to learn from them in terms of football development."

Mr Ng was said to be speaking from London, where he met the administrators. He was quoted in another publication, the New Paper, saying: "The weakness lies in the people who run the club and I feel that we can do something better."

The New Paper said Mr Ng's group had likely submitted a bid of around £20m for Rangers and the bulk of the money would be used for paying off its creditors.

Like the Blue Knights, Mr Ng is said to be against liquidating the 141-year-old institution, which reportedly boasts a worldwide fanbase of 5.5 million. The Singaporeans want to take the route of a Company Voluntary Arrangement, which provides for partial or full repayment depending on what the company can reasonably afford to pay.

Mr Ng, a Rangers fan for more than 10 years, said: "We've told the administrators that we’ll set aside £12 million to be split among the creditors. For every dollar of debt the club owes, about 20 cents will be paid back, while the rest will be written off."

If the Singaporeans’ bid succeeds, they would appoint a board of directors — Scottish businessmen who support the club — to run the club. Under an exchange programme, Singapore coaches and administrators would hone their trade at Ibrox.

The administrators revealed in a report to creditors that Rangers has confirmed debts of £55m, and a possible further bill of £75m if it loses its main tax case to HM Revenue and Customs. Over the six weeks since it went into administration on February 14, the club has lost more than £2.5m.

Duff & Phelps's fees since administration until the end of last month are £1.2m – £200,000 more than the club has made in that period, the creditors' document revealed. 

The administrators also accepted for the first time that agreement with chairman Craig Whyte is relevant to any club sale.

Despite previous claims by Duff & Phelps that Whyte was "absolutely irrelevant" to the sale of the club, the report acknowledges that agreements over a sale are needed from the controversial venture capitalist.

They acknowledge that Whyte's company Rangers FC Group has a hold over the assets of the club, including Ibrox Stadium and the training ground Murray Park, near Milngavie.

Apart from having an 85% controlling stake in the club, the company inherited a floating charge over the assets granted to the Bank of Scotland after paying off £18 million of club debt.

The report says: "The joint administrators have sought to clarify the level of indebtedness, if any, due to RFC Group in respect of this charge and are liaising with RFC Group in respect of this matter. Creditors will be provided with an update in due course."

Duff & Phelps also said any sale would be dependent on, among other things, "the ability to obtain control of RFC Group's majority shareholding".

The report also shows HMRC could be the biggest creditor, with a potential debt of £93m, made up of £14.4m confirmed debt, £75m unconfirmed from the "big" tax case and a further £4m from the "small" tax case.

Administrators said the estimated £4m tax case centred on the use of the tax scheme to pay players Tore Andre Flo and Ronald De Boer between 2000 and 2003.

It also shows that, if HMRC wins the main tax case, private finance firm Ticketus could not veto a company voluntary arrangement to get the club out of administration. The company put up in excess of £20m to help Whyte complete his £1 takeover in May last year through the sale of four years of season tickets.

The administrators confirmed they could break Ticketus's hold over the season tickets and leave the club open to a claim for damages over a breach of contract.

But they believe it would rank as an "ordinary unsecured claim" in administration.

Duff & Phelps indicated that they may still challenge whether the Ticketus deal with Whyte is illegal on the grounds that it was indirectly providing financial assistance for the acquisition of Rangers shares, contrary to the Companies Act 2006.

The report said: "Investigations continue into the circumstances surrounding the struc- ture of these agreements and there is the possibility of further legal action being taken in relation to them."

Administrators also confirmed they had held several meetings with HMRC about "the progress" and "likely exit routes from administration".

The report also reveals Rangers owes cash to 276, individuals, businesses and public bodies.

Also included among an extensive list of unsecured creditors are debenture holders, fans who loaned money to the club, who are owed £7.7m and former owner Sir David Murray's com- pany Murray Group Holdings, which is owed £278,964.

Celtic are owed more than £40,000, while English Premiership club Manchester City is due £328,000 and Arsenal is owed £136,000. Also, Rapid Vienna is due more than £1m.

Other football clubs owed cash include Hearts (£800,000) and Dundee United (£65,981).

Rangers were also owed £3.8m from other football club over deferred transfer fees and the administrators said they may seek to accelerate the receipt of the money.