Rangers puts its iconic Edmiston House on the line
Car parks and derelict buildings in Glasgow are not the obvious things that spring to mind when considering potential investment opportunities for Isle of Man-registered hedge funds.
Yet Laxey Partners, the $2bn activist investor, this morning announced that it has insured a £1m loan to Scottish football giant Glasgow Rangers against land and buildings around the club’s legendary Ibrox home.
The troubled football club, now known as The Rangers Football Club, has borrowed £1m from Laxey and £500,000 from the club’s director Sandy Easdale secured against the club’s Edmiston House and Albion car park properties, seen here courtesy of Google Streetview.
The club has just six months to repay the loan, with the facilities repayable no later than 1 September.
It’s thought Laxey – which already owns 11.64 per cent of the club – could accept shares instead of cash as a repayment, further strengthening its grip.
Much will depend on how many season tickets Rangers sells between the end of the season and August, just before the loan is due to be repaid.
Edmiston house, which now stands derelict, had once been Rangers’ ticket office and social club. The building, and the car park, were bought by the club in March 2013 with a view to redeveloping the area, but plans have since stalled.