RANGERS have announced they have entered into a £1.5million loan with the Three Bears consortium.

 

And it has also been confirmed that RIFC plc has 'ceased the process of satisfying the conditions for drawdown' of the second tranche of the Sports Direct loan that was announced earlier this year.

On March 3, Rangers began the due diligence process with Sports Direct, owned by controversial shareholder Mike Ashley, to take a further £5million and warned that 'external funding will be required' if the cash was not taken.

The loan from the Three Bears - a consortium of Douglas Park, George Taylor and George Letham - will be used for working capital requirements and is interest and fee free.

The move comes just weeks after Dave King, Paul Murray and John Gilligan ousted the remaining members of the old Ibrox regime as Derek Llambias and Barry Leach were removed from the board.

The new Rangers hierarchy have spent their first few weeks in office going through the books and developing a clearer understanding of the financial picture at Ibrox.

And they have now agreed a deal with director Park and associates Taylor and Letham, who loaned Rangers £1million last year.

A statement to the Stock Exchange said: "The Company is pleased to announce that it has entered into loan agreements with Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor for facilities totalling £1.5m. The proceeds of the loans are available generally for the purposes of the Company and will be used for working capital.

"The loans are being made available until 31 December 2015 which will provide the Company with time to deliver a longer term funding solution.

"No interest or fees are to be charged in respect of the facilities and the loans are being provided on an unsecured basis.

"Provision of the loans is classified as a Related Party Transaction under Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies.

"The independent directors of the Company (being its Board with the exception of Mr Park who is excluded from such decisions being a related party in respect of the loans) consider that the terms of the loans are fair and reasonable insofar as the shareholders of the Company are concerned.

"The Company also announces that it has ceased the process of satisfying the conditions for drawdown of the second tranche of the facility announced on 27 January 2015 with SportsDirect.com Retail Limited and associated companies."