... Rangers on Friday explaining why MASH is requesting the return of £5m owed by the club.
Rangers chairman Dave King recently indicated the new Ibrox board was in no rush to clear the debt, when he described the situation between the parties as a “holistic relationship”.
The statement from Ashley, who owns a near nine per cent shareholding in Rangers, read: “MASH was surprised and concerned as to the speed with which, following the general meeting held on 6 March 2015, Rangers Plc was delisted from AIM.
“MASH had relied upon Mr David King's various public statements that that there was a NOMAD willing to come in to act for Rangers Plc (subject to the customary checks). Clearly, at some stage in the NOMAD appointment process, it became clear to the new board that the potential NOMAD was not satisfied with its investigations of Rangers Plc.
“The key question is when exactly did this happen and what steps did the New Board take as part of normal contingency planning to consider alternative NOMADs and engage with the AIM Regulator so as to ensure that the AIM listing was preserved?
'Consequence'
“Crucially, did the New Board leave it all to the very last minute and were then left with no viable alternative? The consequence of what happened is that Rangers Plc no longer has a public listing, nor is it subject to the AIM regulatory rules which is all the more important in circumstances where the new Chairman of the New Board has, as is a matter of public record, been prosecuted for and admitted liability in respect of various criminal offences in South Africa, resulting in the payment then of approximately £44 million to cover liabilities and fines in South Africa.”
King has advised shareholders, who elected the new board into place in March, to vote against paying MASH the £5m the company has loaned to Rangers.