RANGERS FIRST are poised to achieve their goal of a 5% stake at Ibrox by the end of the year after buying a further 250,000 shares in the Light Blues.

The fan ownership group now control 3.51% of the shareholding in Rangers International Football Club plc after their second major purchase in the space of a couple of weeks.

Rangers First have set themselves aims of acquiring 5%, 10% and 25% stakes at Ibrox and have seen thousands of Gers supporters join up since their launch 18 months ago.

SportTimes revealed earlier this month that RF had purchased a further 586,000 shares in RIFC plc to become the eight largest investors in Rangers.

And director Ricki Neill urged any shareholders – including the Easdale brothers – who wanted to sell off their shareholding to contact the group.

RF have now made another significant purchase to further increase their stake in Rangers and Neill is delighted that they are on course to reach the 5% barrier in the coming months.

He said: “Further to this acquisition, our shareholding working group have also recently prepared some financial projections based on our members’ current monthly contribution levels.

“These projections indicate that Rangers First will achieve our first target of a 5% shareholding in the club before the end of 2015.

“This will be a truly remarkable achievement by everyone involved with Rangers First to meet our first target in under two years.

“None of this would have been possible without the generosity and support from every one of our members. I would like to thank all of our members who have contributed to Rangers First over this period.

“We are genuinely excited to know that the achievement of this first target could only be months away, we believe all Rangers supporters should be members of Rangers First to protect our Club for generations to come and we would encourage all fans to join today.”