The new Rangers investors remain shrouded in mystery as the names released by Charles Green mean nothing to most people. However, investors have allegedly suffered death threats, had a website hacked and pulses soared when a one supposed investor was named on Interpol’s Most Wanted List.
However, Rangers fans can relax as SFA officials, sworn to secrecy and signing a confidentiality agreement, have been shown a list of shareholders. Before you ask, I don’t know whether their trouser legs were rolled-up and breasts bared and I don’t even know if it was a page out of the Karachi telephone directory. What we need to know is whether the list revealed the actual beneficial ownership of the shareholding rather than a trust or nominee name and the amount invested. I hope the SFA have been very careful about applying the ‘Fit and Proper Person’ tests.
On 15 June Rangers chief executive Charles Green revealed: ‘Our investors include Chris Morgan, a UK-based businessman representing family trusts; Glenmuir, the renowned Scottish clothing company; Ian Hart a Glasgow-based businessman; Alessandro Celano of Blue Pitch Holdings and Zeus Capital” and other names have since surfaced.
What is clear that only one investor can be identified as Scottish and that is Ian Hart who seems very confused as to whether he is a Blue Knight or Green Consorter – possibly Contortionist might be a better description of the Janus posture seemingly adopted by the Glasgow businessman.
BLUE PITCH HOLDINGS
Mr Green has revealed that Blue Pitch Holdings is the largest investor in his consortium with 23 per cent of the shares and is fronted by Swiss businessman Alessandro Celano. Blue Pitch Holdings is not registered as a UK company and internet searches have failed to find any trace.
A Mr Alessandro Celano is a director in 1508 London Ltd which is a very upmarket London design studio. Intriguingly, fellow director Fayeeza Naqvi is the wife of Pakistani born Arif Masood Naqvi – one of the 50-most influential people in the global private equity industry who holds Pakistan’s highest civilian honour.
Both he and his wife attended the London School of Economics and graduated in 1982 with Fayeeza joining a London-based global bank. She is renowned internationally as a collector and patron of Middle Eastern art and a tireless voluntary worker for underprivileged women and children in India and Asia.
Mr Naqvi is the founder and CEO of the Dubai-based investment bank Abraaj Capital – the leading private equity firm in the Middle East, Northern Africa and South Asia with US$ 1.5 billion of paid-up capital which since inception in 2002 has raised approximately US$ 7 billion with about US$ 3 billion distributed to investors.
A Linkedin profile lists an Alessandro Celano as head of the Family Office of Orchadia SA based in Geneva and that a Mr Arif Masood Naqvi is the sole director of Orchadia SA.
Repeated attempts to contact Mr Naqvi by emailing the Geneva-based lawyer representing Orchadia SA and Abraaj Capital in Dubai have gone unanswered. The emails attempted to clarify the possibility of a link between Mr Naqvi and Blue Pitch Holdings and sought clarification as to whether Mr Naqvi or any of his companies have invested in Rangers Football Club. After these attempts to establish the facts Mr Celano’s Linkedin profile was either removed or restricted.
GLENMUIR
Mr Green described Glenmuir as a ‘renowned’ Scottish company. Perhaps once upon a time they were – but no longer, having been bought out in 2002 by the English registered, Bolton-based Ruia Group whose directors include: Vimal Ruia and Amit Ruia apparently with family links to India as well as running a very successful textile group mainly based in England. Some staff still work for Glenmuir in Lanark where the company was founded in 1891 before running into financial problems which ultimately led to its sale to the Ruia Group.
At the recent RFFF meeting Mr Green was pressed on why some investors didn’t want their names known and the Rangers chief executive revealed Glenmuir had invested in excess of £1m and subsequently received hate mail and threats of business being withdrawn. Other people at the meeting have since stated on internet Rangers fan forums that ‘death threats’ were actually received by the company.
What of course proves that Glenmuir isn’t owned by Scots is that the company invested in one side of the Old Firm which any native knows is not a wise thing to do.
ZEUS CAPITAL
The Manchester-based Zeus Capital states on its website that: ‘Zeus Capital and its associates are also investors’ in the new Rangers although the amount invested isn’t revealed and no associates are identified. However the firm, which offers investment advice, now has its Managing Director Imran Ahmad sitting on the Rangers board with Brian Stockbridge, another Zeus director, serving as Rangers chief financial officer specifically tasked with raising capital.’
According to Rangers fan web forums the company’s website was hacked by Rangers supporters opposed to the Green Consortium. Interestingly the website as of Saturday was still stating that ‘The Rangers Football Club’ had applied: ‘To participate in the SPL’. Glad to see that two of Rangers’ new livewire directors are right up to speed 🙂
IAN HART – AN ENIGMA
Ian Hart, the Glasgow businessman, denied he was an investor in Rangers within hours of Green making the claim back in June and stated that he actually supported the Blue Knight consortium which subsequently failed in its Rangers buy-out bid.
But, at last week’s RFFF meeting, Green told the assembled Rangers fans that Hart did hold shares in the new company presumably purchased by money: ‘lying about in the youth development department’. Hart, who is said to be a large backer of Rangers youth development, explained that the money that was lying about was money that he had given to the club but which hadn’t been spent.
Hart’s seeming confusion as to which horse he is backing doesn’t bother me. But this ‘lying about’ money – was it in cash, in a bank account or what? And why wasn’t it secured by D&P for the benefit of creditors? What truly amazes me is that Whyte didn’t sniff it out – it must be the only thing he missed.
INTERPOL’S MOST WANTED
The Herald named one of Green’s consortium as Rafat Rizvi, a British citizen who ended up on Interpol’s wanted list after going on the run. Rizvi supposedly said he would invest £2 million in Ibrox after being accused of ‘stashing’ assets from an Indonesian bank, of which he was a major shareholder, two years ago.
Rizvi, 49, grew up and went to university in the UK, and potentially faces a death sentence in Indonesia. He remains on the run from an Interpol warrant and flits between his London Park Lane home and Singapore as neither the UK or Singapore has an extradition agreement with Indonesia. At the heart of the accusation is corruption allegations involving $1.4 billion of securities.
The newspaper also claimed that Mike McDonald, former Sheffield United chairman, invested £2 million in Rangers.
Green responded: “[Mike McDonald and Rafat Rizvi] are not investors in Rangers nor in any fund that has invested in the club” – although McDonald had previously publicly discussed a potential investment.
OTHER NAMES LINKED WITH IBROX INVESTMENT
Enquiries have failed to identify Chris Morgan or indeed any of the family trusts he represents which apparently have invested in Rangers and it is not known whether these investors are UK-based or not.
Also mentioned by Green or Malcolm Murray, the Rangers chairman, as investors are: Malaysian hotelier Jude Allan, apparently also known as Javed Abdullah; Middle Eastern lawyer Mazen Houssami; Elias Kaisar; and Jean Haddad. There are no contact details; amounts invested; or whether these people act for themselves or unidentified others. It is therefore a pointless exercise to attempt to unravel their identity and motives.
At the RFFF meeting, Green read out the list of existing Rangers shareholders, the bulk of these being in the form of ‘trust funds’. He said it was outwith the law and FSA rules for the individuals involved in these trusts to be made public. I disagree with Mr Green’s legal opinion just like I disagree with it over the operation of the Tupe Regulations. It is not illegal for people to publicise a trust that they belong to although many use the anonymity provided by operating through proxies for a variety of reasons and sometimes for tax avoidance.
RFFF members remained unhappy at the lack of transparency and the minute of the meeting notes: ‘The Board should consider methods to maximise transparency that would allow the fans to be re-assured that investments were real.’
Green told the RFFF meeting: ‘Additional investment has been promised and ‘placing letters’ received which guarantee a further tranche of capital, with ongoing discussions with a range of other potential investors.’
It remains to be seen whether investors will still be as keen to part with their cash if Rangers actually end up in SFL3 and I have the feeling that ‘placing letters’ could quickly end up providing a service for that place where the sun don’t shine.
It is worth observing: ‘An investment letter of intent is written by an investor who intends to put money into the business or idea of an entrepreneur. The vast majority of investment letters of intent are not legally binding’.
It would also be interesting to know whether the SFA have any idea about the variety and complexity of placing letters eg Big Boy letters, individual placement letters, placement letters relating to AIM investment or even – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placing_notes_in_the_Western_Wall
Indeed one of Mr Rizvi’s co-accused (See Interpol’s Most Wanted) has been jailed for five years on charges of not honouring a letter of agreement.
Posted by Ecojon
Random Thoughts Re Scots Law by Paul McConville 
I wonder why none of the supporters are doing this research? As ever Paul to the point showing how ridiculous this whole affair is. And with tonight’s revelations that Ticketus/Octopus are closely linked with funding Zeus and banking facilities there is so much more to come out. Seems Bomber Brown may not be so far off the mark with asking to see title deeds. Time will tell no doubt! thanks once again Paul.
that was ecojon that posted ,if you flick throw the site you will see his posts in the comment section they are the most academic on here but he keeps iy simple for all to read just like paul ,get your news here dont buy msm its all fake lies save a tree and the amazon
Humble apologies ecojon. Great blog what I said to Paul applies equally to you. Thank you for keeping us informed so well.
Alex 17.7.12 As Rangers supporters this debacle gives us a once in a lifetime opportunity an opportunity which is both awesome and frightening. If we think of our situation there are those Green among them who own Ibrox, Murray Park and some land in Govan they are not and never will be Rangers people but like the Glaziers they have control of assets close to the hearts of a massive world wide fan base and they intend to milk it for all its worth. you can’t blame them. Like Man united supporters they are loathed but they will not budge and for all the fans protest we are about to buy into it. The protest has not worked in Manchester because the fans turn up at old Trafford week in and week out giving the Glaziers their money and buy the clubs merchandise to the delight of the Glaziers. We are in a slightly different situation we have been put out of business Rangers Football club no longer exists Greens’ mirrage is a new club with no connection to the Rangers supporters. We are supposedly in the 3rd division and like most Rangers supporters I look forward to giving the other 3rd division clubs a financial boost until I realise that this is not my Rangers. As a result I think why not start again forget Ibrox and Murray Park for the present start a new club which could be The 12th Glasgow Rangers football club bring in some young boys to play we could share Hampden and work outside the League set up for 3 years and then apply for the 3rd division and if possible we could try and negotiate our way into the lower English divisions. Move on why not if Ibrox ever became available we could try to buy it.
“…we could share Hampden…”?? Typical arrogant Rangers peepul! Queen`s Park might not want to share its ground with you.
The Chris Morgan you are looking for may be Christopher Morgan, who is in charge of investment trusts for Bath-based firm Charles Stanley: http://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/bath/biographies/christopher-morgan-chartered-fcsi/
Charles Stanley have acted as sponsor for investment trusts set up by Octopus – the owners of Ticketus.
Just a coincidence, I’m sure.
Elias Kaisar and Jean Haddad may be be Monaco-based associates of the Abela family, who made their cash from airline catering and have links to Lebanon, Cyprus, the USA and even Aberdeen.
In fact, there seem to be a few links to Lebanon, Pakistan and Monaco among those named so far, plus of course Alessandro Celano, who formerly worked for Deutsche Bank in Switzerland.
Do we know of anyone else with links to Monaco and Switzerland?
As for SS finance chief Brian Stockbridge, he has worked on deals with Octopus in the past.
Those Whyte and Ticketus suspicions just won’t go away, will they?
Cheers Johnbhoy…now that Octopus link is interesting…heard unverified rumours that ticketus hold the title deeds for Ibrox…hmmm. Just rumours I suppose…
These people have one common denominator. They have no interest whatsoever in Rangers, deid version or Sevco flavour. They are in it to make money and if Imran Ahmed’s “£50M on a bad day” comment is anything to go by, they are on to a good thing.
Superb piece again Paul, many thanks for an enjoyable and enlightening read.
ecojon wrote it lol
Well done to him too!
Good post Ecojon, and good luck chasing the rest of the connections. I’m interested to see whether any more Ticketus links appear, especially as BDO can’t be far off now.
ecojon thats amazing stuff a take my hat of to you and at the same time am saying bravo bravo ,no doubt the msm will be getting there headlines for the week a head here agian,the letter of intent thats why div1 had to happen or its bust ,its a bump deal if that happens ,were would that leave us ,the dbo selling at aution ,ave noticed the bluechip holdings name alot ,this is the last thing the decent rangers fans need more drama and straw clutching not to mention green and his band of silent partners ,am amazed the sfa dident ask for more info ,is this the armagidion that bombers going on about ffs the season starts in two weeks why no season ticket statement from green asmell a rat agian ,will this increase the chance of sevco being placed in the spl although the whole of scottish soccer said no its looking more bad now than when the admin its self broke ,although bomber sounds drunk as a skunk there might be truth in what he said ,that was a great read and look forward to your follow up posts thanks for outing the truth well done and its time the rangers fans start asking cgreen some of you questions the above mentioned seem to make whyte look not that bad
Just when we thought the issues had been resolved and Rangers can move forward we now find that the investors are still shrouded in secrecy. If they dont want their names revealed they shouldn’t invest. My heart goes out to the Rangers fans, their club hounded at every turn by the incompetence and ignorance of others.
this is all down to imcompatence by the sfa agian shifting the goal posts to suit sky not looking at the facts and doing due diligence on the new owners
Interesting piece Ej, but can’t say I’m much wiser. There doesn’t seem to be much Scottish money going into the pot. More a case of getting super-rich Asians and others to put in a few millon, against what kind of security, I am not sure. Now with Div. 3 looming and any return going to be more long term, it will be harder to raise money. The other side of the equation of course is that short term he will need a lot less.
Anyway, good luck Charlie. Its not going to be an easy few years and if you make a few bob I for one wont begrudge it to you.
ernsider the letter of intent this could be the biggest story out of it if they pull out has all the money went throw whys the bdo no saying anything why is it taken so long for them to do a report on the deal its stale after stale a think were on to major news here world wide exclsiuve in the making ,the good thing out it all is that if the new investors upset the sevco fans they wont be able to get them as they are all round the world lol
@Ernesider
I fully understand the operation of Capitalism and the necessity for us all to reach various individual accommodations with it or else end up living a fairly austere lifestyle.
However, I have yet to see any evidence that Green himself has invested any of his own money into this enterprise so I personally begrudge him not the ‘few bob’ that you mention but the millions that he hopes to get from the floatation especially if it means the death of Rangers and all the collateral damage that that would cause to Scottish Football with no trickle-down cash as Rangers make their passage through the SFL.
When you say there doesn’t seem to be much Scottish money going into the statement that is most certainly the understatement of the year with the only money from Scotland apparently money previously donated to Rangers years ago – why wasn’t it regarded as part of Rangers assets?
The main annoyance I have is not the operation of capitalism and the mystery investors but Scottish Football bosses who I believe have failed to carry out due diligence into the viability of the consortium. At the end of the day Rangers have now had two owners who operated under a financial veil and brought the club to its knees – I don’t think decent Rangers supporters need or deserve another lack of transparency and that is what they are getting.
Green has promised he will float Rangers on AIM so that the fans can own it – that really is a nonsense as the founder investors up to a combined £10 million limit get their investment doubled – this effectively means that the fans would need to purchase in excess of 20 million £1 shares to take control. The impossibility of that can be judged by the fact that all the fund raising done by the RFFF in recent months has only gathered together approx £600,000.
A magnificent effort but on that basis the fans will lose their best-ever opportunity to gain mutual control of the club. You seem to believe that the investors might wait for longer term returns on their investment but I personally doubt that – they want in and out quick with a good profit which creates a very dangerous situation.
However I do agree with you Ernesider that it will be harder to raise capital and the only security I see is flogging the property for development – there will be no tears from the investors involved if football goes out the window to provide them with a satisfactort return on capital.
As to Green needing less money in the short term I think it’s worth looking at the income and expenditure listed in D&Ps interim report and you’ll see that Ibrox is a voracious monster when it comes to devouring capital – I really wonder how much Green has in the bank at the moment because if the season ticket money doesn’t flood in very soon the whole thing is up in the air.
But I do believe that ultimately Rangers will survive through the efforts of its fans long after Green has ridden off into the sunset with bulging saddlebags.
Mick & Ej
Thanks for the replies. I think you will agree that they have got Charlie because all fervent RTID loyalists wouldn’t back up their bravado with a few bob. So like it or lump it they have got an English opportunist. And if he rides off into the sunset with bulging saddlebags it will not bother me one bit. The shower of tight-fisted hypocrites will have got what they deserve. For Gods putting Bomber Brown forward as the savior of Rangers. Don’t tell me they were serious.
OK Maybe a little over the the top, but those with money power and influence in the Rangers Family didn’t exactly rush to man the barricades. In fact apart from a few half-hearted short lived, late in the day exercises in futility they are still nowhere to be seen. I repeat. Bomber Brown for God’s sake. You have got what you deserve.
Ej, you seem to be taking up your cudgel on behalf of of the what you more or less called in previous posts the “decent silent majority of Rangers supporters.”
My problem is that I have never met any them, but have had more experience than enough with the other type.
well said ernsider all the rangers men on the telly were all talk and no action ,maybe its the best way forward for ranger and celtic and glasgow now there is fresh blood at the club that is not orange and scottish could lead to a more diverse and universial product which would be a great thing if he could pull it of ,if the backers are of nice charaters then this is a great inward investment as its mega money men and as for bomber no command that was pure panto stuff when a watched the youtube vid a thought he was going to ask them all for there bank detials there and then they would have done it.weve had some week with the vote now this massive story and the scottish cup entry ,has any1 noticed charlies aawful quiete on it all as well am just glad am celtic and glotting it must well hurt being a bear these days lol with no due diligence by the sfa and roumours of secret backers surly the sfa wont change the postion the vote delivered incase of more wrong doing coming out .
You have the wrong Chris Morgan, don’t waste much more time on the Charles Stanley link (and whatever else it throws up).
He’s an ex copper (Met and NCIS) with very recent succession links to Charles Charles.
well leave that to the reporter to decide lol
BillyBhoy68,
I’m loving your work!
One of the founding principles of the Enigma codebreaking efforts during WWII was to look for the wrong answers, then eliminate them. Looks like you’ve done just that with Chris Morgan at Charles Stanley. My mistake!
The Nova Resources connection is spot on, of course (to the non-anoraks, Green was the previous chairman and wanted fraudster Rafat Ali Rizvi was the owner).
But just look at Morgan’s previous companies – that name Abela again! Several times!
Then there is Elias Y Kaisar, formerly President of Miami Trade Center Associates, who were involved in the sale of a development in Miami: Downtown River Village. His address was given as Monaco and the Director of MTCA was Albert Abela.
Abela’s Scottish interests were looked after by Riad Theodor Haddad (does he have a son called Jean who lives in Monaco?).
The Abela family come from Lebanon, where Mazen Houssami is also based.
That’s 4 links to the Abelas.
No wonder Chuckie Green is looking nervous . . .
@ Johnboy – brilliant work – we really are completing the jigsaw. Just shows what can be achieved when we pool resources. I’m thinking that maybe I’ll redo the story incorporating the new material and send it to the SFA because they are probably the only ones who can actually put Green under the spotlight – I doubt if they will but at least it becomes a matter of record and if sevco goes down the pan then the SFA have a lot to answer for.
If green can prove he has the money and investment to successfully relaunch rangers in SFL3 then fair enough but this is a piano wire and chewing gum operation IMHO and smells to boot.
sevco universial or what well done cgreen you managed to universilise the we are the people types a take my hat of to him if the deals good and were all wrong then at least its a positive step for them to become more in touch with the world
thats mcnally at the mirror going on about the article and thommo ch4 its worldwide for ecojon well done m8, trendmap glasgow sevco
His full name is here, Green stepped down to focus on Sevco.
http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail/?display=news&code=cotn:NOVA.L&action=article&articleid=8583918
As for the Zeus links, well ok Imran Ahmed is part of Zeus, and Malcolm Murray tried to make big news of the Manchester United sale during the 90’s when Imran was light years away from forming a partnership with Zeus.
What they forgot to add was the last football link related to Imran.
Imrans baby is Allenby Capital who were the nominated advisers to Brainspark PLC. In 2010 they purchased a 36% stake in Serie B side AC Ancona, raising it to approx 45% a couple of months later.
The club went bust (go to wiki for the history) due to financial irregularities and the investment turned into a total loss, although that’s now been recently updated.
From memory they regained €100,000.00 and a promise of a further refund in the event that they regain league status.
The club has gone though, now reformed/renamed and in the lower/non leagues.
Funny how Malcolm forgot to mention just how good Imran is on the football investment side.
Brainspark appear to have dumped them shortly afterwards.
Thanks BillyBhoy68 – I knew about Allenby but missed Ancona although having read your stuff a vague bell is running in my addled brain. Another important piece of the jigsaw.
Slightly off topic, but given the fact that Paul McConville has run quite a few stories regarding the previous history of Craig Whyte re Bullion/Costa Rica/Fear and Greed/etc, it’s perhaps worthwhile just refreshing upon how he achieved billionaire status.
All his invitations to tender can be seen here. Not really Richard Branson material.
https://www.elance.com/e/edsel123/
off topic is cool on here billy bhoy its still within the whole picture
keep up the good work lads ,the key board clatterers are on the case ,a wonder what jim trynor will think of this 1 then ??
Jim Traynor will think he broke the story months ago, like he always does…
jabba the liar a told you so lol
sevco the mecinisim to get tickitus there money back lol??????
@Ernesider
You state I seem to be taking up the cudgel on behalf of the “decent silent majority of Rangers supporters” as if that is a treasonable offence.
Let’s clear up any misconception here – I will take up the cudgel on behalf of the decent supporters of any club, including my own – Celtic. I have no ulterior motives and my sincere hope is that Scottish Football can eventually emerge from the chaotic and weak leadership it currently suffers from with a new visionary leadership that can be trusted.
And, again so there is no doubt, I believe that Rangers do have a place in Scottish football and I don’t happen to believe that their total destruction would be good for Scottish Football.
I had the great fortune to have four Irish grandparents – one set Protestant and one set Catholic – They practised their different religions without bigotry and with genuine religious toleration towards towards other faiths. They left Ireland basically for the same reason and that was to build a new life hopefully with freedom from religious intolerance and poverty and, most importantly, they made me the man that I became.
As regards to the Rangers ‘Men’ who didn’t invest their hard-earned millions in the club all I can say is I know some of them and know they are Rangers through and through and if they decided against outting cash in then they had good reason not to. A read of the D&P report as to the various stages of the different bids is quite illuminating and points to vast amounts of capital being required over a 3-5 year period to get Rangers on an even keel even if it had stayed in the SPL.
The playing squad would have to have been decimated and I think that is another major factor why the Rangers ‘Men’ walked away because they IMHO knew they would be castigated as traitors by the extreme element in the support that think Rangers have a divine right to beat every other team on every occasion.
I personally don’t think they have walked very far but they would have no truck with Green and his nameless ones and I think are biding their time to let the Green consortium go down the pan. They are Rangers ‘Men’ and I believe them when they say they will in due course hand the club back to the fans – I am certain that this will never happen under Green.
As to Bomber – well as I’ve said before on here you get what you see with Bomber. He’s not a smooth public speaker and manipulator of a meeting but he was a faithful and good servant to Rangers and is passionate in his opposition to Brown because he believes that he could destroy Rangers, I also am unsure what you are trying to suggest Ernesider when you state I have got what I deserve in Bomber Brown.
I am truly sorry you have never ever met any decent Rangers supporters Ernesider. I have met quite a mix from nutters to fine people and I have also met good people at Parkhead as well as Celtic nutters.
I suppose we all find what we seek in many ways especially when we wish to reinforce an entrenched position or belief 🙂
Justice for all including sevco fans any other way would be morally wrong keep up the good work lads and keep digging not just for Celtic but for all that’s good
Oops – 3rd last para I say Brown is: ‘passionate in his opposition to Brown’ which of course should read Green.
@ecojon, another heartwarming piece. I agree with your sentiments about a Rangers team playing football and my grandparents also left Ireland for the same reasons yours did. I also knew/know Bomber Brown well as I worked with his wife when he first came to Rangers from one of the Dundee clubs and as you say not the public speaker but a passionate man when it comes to Rangers and more to the point a lovely family man. More to come on this whole ownership thing but surprised there has been no apparent action yet from the liquidators. I wonder if there may even be a chance they could nullify the sale to Green because of the Ticketus connection? That would really set the cat amongst the pigeons!
is sevco the mechinism to get tickitus there money back?????
Hold on Ej. I made two statements to explain the different perspectives we were bringing to this debate. No suggestion of treason was made or implied.
What I should have foreseen was that such is the nature of and history of the Celtic/Rangers conflict that the interpretation you took from my words was nearly inevitable. And please don’t get paranoid on me. The ‘got what you deserved’ was directed at Rangers’ reluctant rich not at you. Though I might not always agree with you and what you say, I respect where you are coming from and believe that you are sincere.
Now. Just take what I say is what I mean, no hidden sub text.
Rangers, see themselves as much more than a football club. They portray themselves as an old honourable family, a way of life steeped in history and tradition.To some they are a bastion against an insidious papish conspiracy, to which they will concede ‘not an inch.
But the honour of a family carries certain obligations and one of these is that you pay your debts. Does a son say: “That has nothing to do with me, that was my profligate father.” Especially when he has benefited from the reckless spending. He might ; and indeed he may have the law on his side, but he will, for generations to come lose the respect of his decent neighbours.
In an attempt to balance the picture given by my postings.
I have followed the Old Firm struggle for close to 60 years, but I have always regarded myself as a Sportsman first and a Celtic supporter second. And of all the great players that have displayed their skills over those years, the one I admired most Jim Baxter of Rangers.
How’s that for a bit of Treason Ej?
I’ve already told the world who Chris Morgan is working for. Company called RISC Management, recently caught up in a cash for information scandal which resulted in several execs being jailed and bailed. Up until now nobody in the press has asked Green just who these “family trusts” are. When you see the company RISC keeps it might suggest why these families/individuals name are being kept secret.
Firstlt, I am not a Rangers fan. I do think there have been some shady deals done by Charles Green etc and all is not what it seems but i have to point out that your information on Glenmuir is wrong and exaggerated.
Firstly, Glenmuir were not sold to the Ruia group because they were in financial difficulty. The Financial difficulties the business HAD faced through the late 90’s and into early 00, were brought under and even keel by new management. The Ruia group bought the company over after that as well as the property and the land around the property.
Since the Ruia group buying over Glenmuir, the company has prospered and also now has the licence to distribute for Sunderland for the next 10 years. It is without doubt that Glenmuir has been more secure than it has ever been, probably, in at least the past 20 years.
The only member of the Ruia family who actually now work in the company (and has only just begun to) is Amit Ruia. The rest of the staff are from in and around Lanark so the staff are predominantly Scottish so it is VERY much a Scottish company in that sense.
There is no doubt that the Ruia group have large wealth but there is no emotional attachment to Rangers as far as I know. The Ruia’s are huge Manchester United fans. This is seen as purely a business opportunity. The Ruia’s were approached by a mutual business associate. If you think of what Glenmuir do, i.e. sourcing apparel, crest embroidery etc It is not hard to see why they see it as a business opportunity.
It IS true that the company received at least one e mail from a customer threatening to withdraw business. The stories of a “death threat” have probably been the result of chinese whispers. The story of the customer e mailing saying he wouldn’t be buying anything was common knowledge within the company, there are a lot of Rangers fans who work there, they probably told their mates and the story gets passed on from there and the story gets more elaborate……
If I’m wrong about the death threat, I’ll stand corrected but i certainly haven’t heard anything of the sort.
Hector’s Army
Thanks for responding to the post re Glenmuir and I wish to make it clear that I have no problems with the Ruia Group whatsoever. What I did have problems was with Charles Green referring to them as a ‘renowned Scottish’ company which they are not. They are a branch of an English-based company with a registered address in Bolton as shown in Companies House documents.
As the writer of the piece let me deal with the points you raise in paragraph order and I would point out that I have no problem In admitting to any mistakes I have made or confusion I have caused although I must admit that I can find none. Likewise I would expect a repost from you answering the questions I have raised and possibly some contrition over your jaundiced view of my very objective and impartial post.
I actually wonder if you were a member of the MBO or indeed still employed in Lanark as you certainly reveal ‘insider knowledge’ in you comments. However, I wish the Lanark workforce well and ‘lang may their lum reek’. If you are actually at the Bolton HQ phone Lanark for a translation.
Para 2) I did not state that Glenmuir was in financial difficulty when purchased by Ruia Group because I was well aware of the successful MBO which followed the financial problems under the tenure of Grampian Holdings PLC. What is important is that what was previously a Scottish company became an English company 10 years ago. I therefore reject your criticism on this point.
Para 3) I am happy to hear that the Glenmuir brand is prospering especially for the Scottish workers employed by the Ruia Group and I made no contention otherwise in my article. You might be able to assist me in that at the MBO there were 80 staff employed in Lanark and I wonder what the figure is today. Could you confirm whether any clothing is actually made in Lanark and what percentage of the workflow comes from just embroidering logos etc on garments made elsewhere, possibly overseas? I hear what you say about the Sunderland licence but in reality this licence is held by the Ruia Group and not the Glenmuir brand name. I await your replies to my questions. I would advise that Para 3 reveals no errors in my post.
Para 4) My piece stated that the directors I mentioned worked for the Bolton-based Ruia Group and I trhink you obfuscate my very clear statement by using the term ‘company’. It seems clear to me that you mean the Glenmuir brand name when you speak of ‘company’ whereas I mean the actual legal entity of Ruia Group – an English based company which has a number of Ruia family directors. In this para I really feel you are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. There might only be one Ruia family member based in Lanark as a director but there are many more based in England and I would like you to confirm that simple fact.
Para 5) I have no problems with the Ruia family’s undoubted wealth or their seeking to increase it through business opportunities especially when they sustain jobs in Scotland. You are obviously an inser or close to the Ruia family so please advise who the mutual acquaintance was and whether the Ruia family have had any previous dealings with Charles Green – I will judge your integrity on whether you answer this or duck the question. As to the Rhuia Group seeing this as a business opportunity I would regard it as closer to shooting yourself in the left foot. There are a helluva lot of people out there who now wouldn’t be seen dead in a Glenmuir golfing garment because the English-based owners have seen fit to invest in only one side of the Old Firm.
Not something I would encourage but it is a fact of life when considering doing a business deal with the Old Firm and as I mentioned in my original post – no Scottish company would make such an elementary error. So can you confirm that the decision to invest in Rangers didn’t come from Scotland but from England.
Para 6 & 7) If you have any problems with my comment about threats then I suggest you raise it with Charles Green who publicly revealed the ‘hate mail’ to a meeting of RFFF and this was what alerted me to the problem. As I made clear in my posts this was followed by chatter on Rangers fan forums which mentioned death threats. If you wish to raise the matter on the Rangers Forums let me know and I’ll send you the web addresses. I will observe with interest the treatment you receive and I tend to think it will not be as civilised as here. I feel my post dealt with this sensitive area in a measured way but it was already well in the public domain before my post and was started by the man that Glenmuir gave £1 million to. So dodn’t shoot the messenger – go to the source or should I say mouth 🙂
Hard to believe but my reply to Hectors Army about a very small section of the original post is far longer than the whole of the original post.
Is there any way i can contact you, by e mail or some other means? I’d like to speak further but I can’t on here. I’ll explain why when i contact you and I’ll answer some of your points. You have my e mail address from posting on here so just drop me a line, I’ll get back to you.
All contact is done via Paul for security reasons Paul’s email is in why a do this not all people on line are who they say they are
all info and doc,s sent to paul are confidential and he would forward them to ecojon for you no problem
@ Hector’s Army – happy to chat to you but I don’t have your email address as I am just a punter on here who is interested in Scottish Football in general and Rangers in particular.
Possibly if you email Paul and authorise him to release your email address to me then we can chat.
Your story is well hot so be careful don’t meet or give your phone number out as it good be the divlel in disguuse
it could be greens heavies try to silence you lol you no my comments make sence
Thank you for your concern Mick but most people are worried about meeting me and my squad of very big and useful boys and grandsons 🙂
OOPS Freudian Slip – Rangers should read Celtic. No doubt the conspiracy theorists will have a field day 🙂
hector,s army am not saying your bad but whens its a topic to do with celtic or sevco you know the score ,its a dark area and security for the bloggers and posters is paramount
From Business Week:
Mr. Christopher Andrew Morgan, Chris has been Director of Nova Resources Limited since May 11, 2012. Mr. Morgan serves on the board of a number of investment companies and acts as a consultant, addressing the needs and requirements of an assortment of high net worth individuals, as well as providing legal and investigatory services and management to various multi-million dollar corporate litigations and criminal investigations. He has served with the Metropolitan Police … and the National Criminal Intelligence Service where he received a number of Commendations. He serves at BDC 1-5, Albert Abela Corporation, Neos Interactive Limited, RCJ Developers LLP, Rhein Parklands Limited, Bond London Limited, Leo Investments Limited, TCJ Investments Limited, Pam Field Investments Ltd, Bright Shield Assets Management Limited, Asia Credit Corporation Limited and Asia Carbon Investments Limited. He served at Abela Hellas Catering Services S.A. and AJMA Services (UK) Limited
Johnboy, the important organisation here is RISC Management. That is who Morgan is being employed by with respect to his involvement with Sevco. RISC are dodgy to say the least. Check out the stuff they were involved in before being renamed, they used to be called ISC Global. Embroiled in the Alexander litvinenko poisoning, he regularly visited their offices, and traces if polonium 210 were also found at their offices. You really could not make it up!
Excellent article Ecojon and interesting informative dialogue as well. As Devils Advocate stated on his post “You really could not make it up!”
Why didnt all the true blues who wanted to buy rangers chip in together, They all wanted 100% share for themselves when a smaller share and smaller funds could have suited everybody, GREED GREED GREED
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