Rangers given until 15:30 to appoint administrator
Rangers Football Club enters administration
(40 minutes later)
Rangers Football Club has been given until 15:30 on Tuesday to appoint an administrator.
Rangers Football Club has entered administration - meaning the club will be docked an immediate 10 points in the Scottish Premier League.
The club's legal team told the Court of Session in Edinburgh that moves were under way to appoint an administrator on Tuesday afternoon.
It follows a unsuccessful legal bid by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to appoint its own administrator.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is asking the court to appoint an administrator under its petition.
London-based firm Duff and Phelps was officially appointed at 14:50.
Lord Menzies told Rangers he would rule on the HMRC application by 15:30 if Rangers had not made an appointment.
It will now take over the day-to-day running of Rangers while addressing the club's massive debt problems.
The moves by both parties are attempts to control the insolvency process which is being faced by the Ibrox club.
The hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh got under way on Tuesday.
If Rangers is placed in administration the club would suffer an immediate 10-point penalty from the Scottish Premier League.
Mr Whyte confirmed on Monday that the club had filed legal papers to appoint administrators.
Tax dispute
It was thought that the club had 10 days to make a decision on whether to proceed, but the HMRC action changed the dynamic of the situation.
The two parties are at loggerheads over a disputed tax bill and penalties of up to £49m.
HMRC believes the Ibrox club owes the cash over its use of Employment Benefit Trusts (EBTs) to pay staff over a 10-year period.
It alleges the Ibrox club did not administer the scheme properly and underpaid tax.
Rangers disputes this and has contested the claim in a first tier tax tribunal, which is due to report within weeks.
After the club signalled its intention to go into administration, owner Craig Whyte said the eventual tax liability facing Rangers could be as high as £75m - a sum it would be unable to pay.
He said the best outcome would be to reach a creditors agreement which would allow the club to continue trading.
Mr Whyte is believed to be a secured creditor of Rangers and could collapse the club if HMRC block a creditors agreement.
The chairman could opt to pursue the legal routes of receivership or pre-pack administration to avoid paying any tax liabilities.
These routes would involve Rangers' assets being transferred to a new company or companies and the old club - formed in 1873 - being left behind with the unpayable debts. It would, almost inevitably, be wound up.
In these cases, HMRC, as an unsecured creditor, would receive very little if anything.
