Rangers shares suspended from trading

Rangers FC have seen their shares suspended from trading on the stock exchange after submitting unaudited accounts.

The club also confirmed in a statement to the PLUS Stock Exchange that they were considering withdrawing their listing on the exchange in the long term.

The statement read: “As a result of the delay in publishing its audited accounts to 30 June 2011, the board announce that the company’s shares have been suspended from trading on PLUS pursuant to Rule 51.”

Rangers released their annual financial figures on November 30, but did not get them signed off by an independent auditor as required by exchange rules, amid financial uncertainty caused by their ongoing tax case with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

The club have also failed to hold an AGM within the usual timescale as majority shareholder Craig Whyte, who assumed control in May, waits for a more positive outlook.

The statement continued: “The delay has been caused as a result of finalising the audit, which the board believe will be complete on or around January 31, 2012.

“The delay in finalising the audit is principally related to the ongoing HMRC tax tribunal.

“The board of the Rangers Football Club plc is currently considering the merit of maintaining its listing on the PLUS market after May 6 2012, being the date 12 months following the acquisition of the 85.3% holding of the Company by The Rangers FC Group Limited.”

The stock exchange had earlier issued a statement announcing the suspension, pointing to rule 51 of their regulations for issuers.

The rule reads: “An issuer must publish annual audited accounts within the time frame required by the jurisdiction to which it is primarily subject or its applicable accounting standards or, if no such time frame is decreed, within a timetable which the issuer must agree in advance with PLUS.”