• Scottish Third Division

Rangers raise over £22 million

Charles Green thanked Rangers fans © PA Photos

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Rangers announced on Tuesday that they have raised more than £22 million from their listing on the stock exhange.

Chief executive Charles Green previously stated he had secured £17 million in pledges from institutional investors and had set aside £10m for fans to buy a stake.

A statement read: "A total of £22.2 million has been raised from professional and institutional investors and supporters which will be used to take the club forward, strengthen the squad when appropriate and improve facilities.''

Green, whose company bought the assets and business of Rangers for £5.5m when the club was consigned to liquidation in June, hailed supporters for their contribution despite falling short of the revised target.

In a statement, Green said: "This is an exciting time for everyone associated with this 140-year-old institution but we are just at the start of the journey. We are rebuilding and Rangers will rise again and we will do so with the help of our fans and the institutional investors who are on board.

"This process has generated over £22 million, which has exceeded the figure of £20 million that we set out to raise when we announced our intention to float the company on October 11 2012.

"I would like to thank our supporters who stepped up to the plate when asked to buy season tickets earlier in the season and have done so again at a time of year when money is extremely tight.''

The club also said that trading in the shares would commence at 8am on Wednesday morning, on the AIM market in the London Stock Exchange. The listed company is called Rangers International Football Club plc and will act as the holding company for the club.

Green was listed as the club's main shareholder in the share prospectus with a stake of almost 15%, which will now be diluted. He had not planned to add to his shares.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley was the third largest shareholder with 9% before the issue of extra shares, behind a consortium called Blue Pitch Holdings. Manager Ally McCoist had almost a 3% stake before the issue and said he planned to buy more, although his shareholding will be diluted.

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