DAVE KING has vowed to ensure Sports Direct are ‘legally and financially held accountable for its failures’ after lambasting the Mike Ashley-controlled company.
The Rangers chairman has hit out at the way Sports Direct have acted in recent months after Ashley was successful in his bid to silence the Gers board earlier this summer.
A High Court injunction prevents King or his fellow directors from disclosing details about the contractual arrangements in place between Rangers and the sportswear firm.
But the South Africa-based businessman has once again criticised the practices and tactics of Ashley, who in June snubbed the Extraordinary General Meeting he had called in a bid to force the Light Blues board to repay the £5million loan he agreed with the former Gers regime in January.
Ashley has an 8.92% shareholding in Rangers International Football Club plc and control over a number of key assets, including Murray Park and Rangers’ registered trademarks, but in March saw close allies Derek Llambias and Barry Leach voted off the Ibrox board as King, Paul Murray and John Gilligan swept to power.
He said: “The gagging order prevents me from disclosing the details of our contractual relationship it does not prevent me from updating supporters on the status of the general relationship with Sports Direct.
“Sports Direct continues to litigate with the Club in an attempt to enforce its wishes and demands. This seems based on the simple logic that Sports Direct can outspend the Club in legal fees and thereby deal with the Club as it pleases.
“I assure supporters that the Club will not be cowed by this threat and the recent lack of communication (as a result of the gagging order) belies the level of robustness with which the Club’s interest has been and will be protected.
“The Club believed that it was entering into a joint venture with a large public company that would behave as a partner should and would conduct its business affairs in an appropriate fashion.
“In my 40 years of business I cannot recollect having dealt with a public company that is run more like a wholly owned family business and appears unconcerned with other stakeholders- partners or otherwise.
“It remains my intention to ensure that Sports Direct is legally and financially held accountable for its failures.”
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article