04 May 2006
Rangers Race Night - Exclusive Opportunity for Trust members

Rangers Lotto is running a Rangers Race Night in the Ibrox Suite on Friday 19th May. Tickets, costing £5, are limited and are available in person or by calling Rangers Lotto on 0141 427 4914.

The race night is sponsored by Carling and Ladbrokes and there are loads of excellent prizes that can be won.

See you there!

05 May 2006
The RST Needs You!

The Rangers Supporters' Trust are looking for volunteers to help distribute tens of thousands of leaflets on Sunday promoting the new Sharesave scheme which will be launched on Friday morning.

Permission has been gained to hand them out at the Ibrox turnstiles and we need a few more helpers!

If you can make yourself available from about 12.15 on Sunday please contact Scott McMillan who is coordinating the distribution at Copland House.

If possible drop him an email beforehand with a contact number:- scottRST@hotmail.co.uk.

05 May 2006
Rangers' Pioneering Share Save Deal Goes Live

Thousands of Rangers fans are expected to sign up for a pioneering share-save initiative, which went live today.

The innovative scheme, which is expected to be used as a blueprint for other leading football clubs across the UK, enables Rangers supporters to invest at least £5.6m in the club’s player pool and in youth development.

The share-save scheme – which has sparked interest from Arsenal executives who are considering adopting the model - was officially kicked off today by its architect, Malcolm McNiven, chairman of the Rangers Supporters Trust.

He said: “This trailblazing initiative is two-fold: fans can have a share in the club they support and a say in how it is run, while the club reaps the financial gains, which are invested in its future.”

The long-awaited initiative, which was launched today at Glasgow’s House for an Art Lover, will allow fans to inject a minimum £10 per month, with no limit, into the savings scheme. The cash will be used to buy shares in Rangers Football Club.

In return, fans who are members of the Rangers Supporters Trust will receive an entitlement to ordinary shares in the club – and a greater say in how the club is run.

Supporters who save £10 a month for a period of five years can expect to acquire around £600 of Rangers shares.

Because investors must first become members of the Trust, it is not considered to be a public offering of shares and therefore escapes red tape and associated administrative costs.

Because the purchase of the shares will be done in one monthly transaction by brokers Direct Sharedeal – of which Malcolm McNiven is Financial Director – costs will be further reduced, enabling the majority of the funds to go directly to the club.

The shares are bought and held in the Rangers Supporters Trust’s name, meaning fans are not locked in and can extract their money at any time.

Commenting on the launch, Rangers FC Finance Director, David Joliffe, said: “The club is supportive of the scheme and of the aim to widen the share ownership of the club. What the club can and will do is facilitate the purchase of the shares by the trust via the issue of new ordinary shares in Rangers Football Club. This will obviously be dependent on the Rangers Supporters Trust Share-save being successful in raising funds directly from its members.”

Supporters Direct – a government publicly-funded initiative designed to encourage community involvement in football clubs – is also backing the scheme.

Ian Davidson, MP for Glasgow South West – home to Ibrox stadium – also welcomed the initiative, which he says will encourage fans to invest in the club, pool their shares and seek a say in how the club is run.

“Enthusiastic and committed fans are the lifeblood of any team and this method of constructively involving them has my full support,” he said.

The Arsenal Supporters Trust has confirmed that it aims to launch a similar scheme as soon as possible.

For further information, please contact us through the site. There will also be a leaflet drop at Sunday's game against Hearts.

09 May 2006
2006 RST Board Elections

Some places will be up for Election during Quarter 2 of 2006, with successful candidates being elected to serve a 3-year term, in accordance with the Trust Rules. The Trust Board always welcomes the input of fresh talent and this is the chance for ordinary members to get elected to the Board, which, once complete, will be 20 strong.

Members interested in applying are asked to note the following: Each candidate must be an adult member, and be proposed and seconded by two other adult members; the candidate, proposer and seconder, must all be current members for the 2006/07 membership year and also, the candidate must not have any criminal convictions (other than spent convictions or minor motoring offences). Candidates must be prepared to invest their time for the benefit of the Trust membership as a whole. Candidates should have particular skills which they can bring to the table, or alternatively a lot of disposable time available to help with the more routine functions of the Rangers Supporters' Trust.

Candidates are allowed to submit up to one A4 page outlining why members should vote for them. It is not sufficient to state that you are a committed Rangers supporter – by definition, every Trust member is a committed fan, so we should take that as read! Candidates should list what particular qualities, or assets, which could benefit the Trust as a whole. A good idea on your A4 page is to state your name, age, town of residence, and what section of Ibrox your season ticket is for, if you have one.

Please note that the closing date for applications is Friday 30th June 2006. Send applications to the Rangers Supporters Trust, PO Box 3099, Clydebank, G60 9AN or alternatively e-mail info@rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk

The Trust would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped with our leaflet drop last Sunday. This went well and another drop is planned for the start of the new season.

11 May 2006
Rangers Lotto/Sporta Ltd World Cup Sweepstake

Some of our members may be interested in the following World Cup sweepstake.