The administrators running Rangers have confirmed they have received a fourth bid for the club.
The latest offer is from an overseas syndicate and comes after the Friday deadline imposed by Duff & Phelps, which passed with indicative interest from the Blue Knights consortium, headed by Paul Murray, a former Ibrox director, from Brian Kennedy, the Sale Sharks owner, and a from the Chicago-based Club 9 Sports.
Once the administrators assess the bids, they will give one party preferred bidder status. That party will then approach creditors, including HM Revenue and Customs, to ask for a company voluntary agreement, whereby they will repay only part of what is owed by the club and so exit administration. If the preferred bidder cannot secure a deal, then there is a possibility that the club could be liquidated.
Meanwhile, the SFA has written to all member clubs asking them to declare any payments made outside registered contracts in the past decade.
The move comes after the SFA dropped an inquiry into allegations that Rangers made such payments. The SFA did so when the Scottish Premier League announced its own investigation as the governing body would hear any appeal. The letter to the 93 member clubs was dated March 9 and asks them to confirm they complied with the rule in the SFA’s articles of association by April 6.
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Stewart Regan, the SFA chief executive, has also revealed it is considering a revised process to ensure new owners of clubs are “fit and proper”. The new guidelines would put the burden on outgoing owners to perform due diligence on prospective purchasers.