Craig Whyte facts for kids

Craig Thomas Whyte (born 18 January 1971) is a Scottish businessman. He is most known for his time as the owner of the Scottish football club Rangers.

Whyte started his career in a company that rented out equipment. Later, he worked in security, manufacturing, and property. In May 2011, he bought most of the shares in Rangers Football Club from David Murray. The club later faced serious financial problems in February 2012 and was closed down in July 2012.

Early Life and Education

Craig Whyte was born in Motherwell, Scotland. He went to school at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow. When he was 15, Whyte became interested in how financial markets work. He earned more than £20,000 by buying and selling shares before he finished school.

Craig Whyte's Business Journey

Whyte's first job was at his father's company, which rented out equipment. In 1990, he started his own equipment rental business called Whyte Hire. This company did not do well and closed down in the early 1990s, owing about £300,000.

Whyte recovered from this and started new businesses in security, manufacturing, and property. By 1997, when he was 26, he was one of Scotland's youngest millionaires. After selling most of his businesses, he moved to Monaco.

When he moved to London, he became a venture capitalist. This means he invested in companies that needed money to grow. The group he led in London, Liberty Capital, focused on buying businesses that were struggling. Their goal was to help these businesses improve and then sell them for a profit.

Owning Rangers Football Club

Craig Whyte was a big fan of Rangers Football Club his whole life. He even had a special viewing box at Ibrox Stadium. In 2010, people started to wonder if he would try to buy the club, which was in debt.

In April 2011, a deal worth £28 million seemed possible. This deal depended on agreements with Lloyds Banking Group about the club's debt. It also depended on a tax review from HM Revenue & Customs.

Sir David Murray sold his main share in Rangers (85.3%) to a company called Wavetower Limited for £1 on May 6, 2011. Rangers' debt to Lloyds Banking Group was then transferred to Wavetower. Wavetower Limited, later renamed The Rangers FC Group Limited, was owned by Liberty Capital, which was Whyte's main company.

The Rangers manager at the time, Walter Smith, was happy about the takeover. He thought it would bring stability to the club. Whyte said he was proud to own Rangers. He promised to invest £25 million into buying new players over five years. Whyte also said, "I'm here first and foremost because I'm a Rangers supporter. I also see a great opportunity and think that Rangers can be a great worldwide brand."

Financial Challenges and Administration

On February 13, 2012, Rangers announced its plan to appoint administrators. This meant financial experts would take over running the club. Rangers officially entered administration the next day, with Duff & Phelps as the administrators.

This step was necessary because Rangers had not paid about £9 million in taxes since Whyte took over. It was found that Whyte had used future income of the club to help pay for his takeover. He had not used his own money or other funds he had access to.

Whyte sold his main share in Rangers for £2 to a group led by Charles Green on May 13, 2012. This happened after different groups competed to buy the club. Green offered to settle with the club's creditors to end the administration. However, the biggest creditor, HMRC, rejected this on June 14, 2012. This led to the club's original company being closed down. Green was then able to buy the business and assets of Rangers from the administrators.

Later Legal Developments

In June 2012, the Crown Office asked the police to look into how Rangers was bought and managed financially.

Ticketus, a company that helped Whyte get money to buy Rangers, successfully sued Whyte for damages in 2013. In September 2014, Whyte was banned from being a company director for 15 years.

An arrest warrant was issued for Whyte in November 2014. This was related to claims of fraud during his purchase of Rangers. Whyte was held by police in Mexico in November 2014 because of this warrant. He appeared in court in Glasgow and was released on bail.

Whyte was arrested again in September 2015. He appeared in court with Charles Green. Whyte was charged with conspiracy and another offense. However, in June 2017, he was found not guilty of all charges after a long trial.

In October 2015, Whyte was declared bankrupt in London. This happened because he did not pay the damages he owed to Ticketus from the 2013 court case.

Personal Life and Property

Craig Whyte used to own the historic Castle Grant, which is near Grantown-on-Spey in the Scottish Highlands. He reportedly spent £5 million on fixing up and improving the castle. In February 2012, a court ordered Whyte to pay a roofing contractor for repairs done to the property.

Castle Grant was put up for sale for over £1 million in April 2014. It was sold to buyers from another country in September of that year.