A well-known financially unstable football club has agreed to a £10 million secured facility with one of the UKs largest sports retailers.

Rangers Football Club Limited has entered a long term on-going credit facility of up to £10 million with SportsDirect.com Retail Limited and associated companies.

This news comes just after Scotland’s most successful football club withdrew a £500,000 loan in order to survive the week with enough working capital. This loan, however, was later repaid in full after the sale of a midfielder completed.

The £10 million credit facility will be secured on the club’s assets, including Rangers’ training ground, Murray Park, Edmiston House, Albion Car Park and the Club’s registered trademarks.

The agreement, however, does not include Rangers’ home ground, Ibrox Stadium, where full ownership of the ground remains with the club.

A recent plunge in match attendance levels led to the Rangers’ financial position being left in a perilous position.

The funding will allow the club time to arrange permanent capital and can be used to strengthen the club’s playing squad.  

David Somers of Rangers International Football Club plc said that the funding has given the board more time to create a stable platform to build for the future.

“This Facility begins this process and we very much hope that it will be augmented with further permanent capital in due course,” he said.

“In addition, the executive team have made strides in addressing the cost base of the Company in order to improve our financial condition and working capital profile.”

The loan facility will be structured in two separate interest free tranches. The first £5 million will be immediately available as working capital and as the full repayment of the £2 million credit facility from MASH Holdings Limited.

The second £5 million will be repayable five years after withdrawal, but is subject to due diligence from SportsDirect.com before drawdown.

The club considered a number of options in its search for a capital injection, but David Somers now hopes this will be the last use of short term finance.

“We very much hope that we can now move away from having to seek short term funding solutions,” he said.

He added that the club can now focus its efforts “a return to profitability and to re-establishing Rangers in the top league in Scottish Football and in due course, to European competition.

“The Board now calls upon all shareholders to rally together to achieve this goal."