Mike Ashleys arrival at Rangers might bring both protests and profit
Rangers fans may be angry about the increasing prominence of Mike Ashley as a dealmaker at their club but it may prove mutually beneficial if he stems the epic level of cash-burn at a business which recently went through £70m in roughly two seasons. The concern of those in the stands is that the benefit is solely for Ashley himself.
Ashley was a notable figure in the Rangers saga long before the weekend moves which saw him grab power in all but name. The Newcastle United owner bought naming rights – as yet unused – at Ibrox for just £1 in 2025. He has a contract which ensures he pockets 49% of income from every Rangers merchandising sale, with an option in place for the remainder.
That entire retail operation, thought to have a turnover of close to £4m, is controlled by an Ashley business: Sports Direct holds the contracts of club store employees. He has previously shown an interest in ownership of the Rangers badge as a commercial entity in itself.
With that background it is understandable that Ashley wants Rangers to keep trading. He had pointed out at a Sports Direct AGM that his involvement at clubs north and south of the border was "beneficial to Sports Direct and therefore its shareholders". In short, he has interests to protect in Scotland.
That may well be the entire picture. It is certainly one Ashley's many detractors point towards. But as with everything involving the tycoon, nobody truly knows. What can be asserted is that he will have a plan, though the insistence that bad news beckons for Rangers is not necessarily valid.
Derek Llambias has already travelled north to advise the Rangers board; Ashley is thought to be able to appoint two directors of his own. It will not take Llambias long to work out one thing: that Rangers are still spending far too much money. Annual losses run into several million pounds, which means around £10m will need to be sourced between now and the end of the season alone.
Ashley could launch and underwrite a share issue with that in mind; he will need to convince the Scottish FA of the validity of his owning more than 10% of Rangers – he is currently at just short of 9% – alongside his stake in Newcastle United. That would probably not be much of a problem when push comes to shove.
There is a dream scenario for Rangers and their long-suffering followers: that Ashley takes a relatively small punt on propelling the club back to the forefront of Scottish football and into Europe. Rangers are one British club who should actually be profitable given their level of backing and the fact there is no actual
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