Club 1872 was formed in May 2016 by the amalgamation of two Rangers supporter shareholder projects; Rangers First and the Rangers Supporters Trust.
Creation
In October 2015, discussions began between several Rangers fans groups, to gauge support for the creation of a single fans organisation capable of buying a significant block of shares and ensuring that the events of 2012 were never allowed to happen to Rangers Football Club again. .
In May 2016, after months of discussion and a number of member votes which were overwhelmingly supportive of a merger, the Rangers Supporters Trust and Rangers First merged to form Club 1872 and launched the new organisation at Ibrox Stadium.
The merger also saw the dissolution of the Rangers Supporters Assembly and the Rangers Fans Board.
Shareholding
Upon its formation Club 1872 held 4,590,496 shares in Rangers International Football Club Plc (RIFC), the combined total of the shares held by the Rangers Supporters Trust and Rangers First. This equated to approximately 5.6% of issued share capital.
A number of share purchase followed and then, in June 2017, Club 1872 purchased 4.46% of RIFC shares from MASH Holdings Limited (Mike Ashley) making Club 1872 the second largest shareholder in RIFC, with a 10.71% total shareholding. This purchase also removed the shareholding influence of Mike Ashley over Rangers.
Since 2017, Club 1872 has continued to participate in regular share issues of RIFC – at one point investing £1.5m into the club in just under 18 months. Despite the huge investment in the club from all major shareholders, and in particular former Chairman Dave King, Club 1872 retains its status as one of only a small number of major shareholders in RIFC.
Our current shareholding can be viewed here.
Projects
Club 1872’s unique structure also allows us to participate in projects which benefit the Rangers community. Since 2016 a number of projects have been undertaken following approval by the contributors of Club 1872. You can read more about these projects here.
