Rangers owner Whyte fails to overturn court order for £86,000 roofing bill

Rangers owner Craig Whyte has failed to overturn a court order forcing him to pay an £86,127 bill to a roofing firm.

In February this year Mr Whyte was branded "wholly unreliable" by a sheriff in the legal action and was ordered to pay One Stop Roofing for supplies.

The roofing firm claimed Mr Whyte's business Tixway UK, which is registered to rented offices in Glasgow's Bath Street, had breached an agreement to pay for goods bought by another company, Snowcast UK.

Mr Whyte, 41, disputed this and said he was not responsible for paying the bill and claimed he too was owed money.

Following the judgment an appeal on behalf of Tixway was lodged on March 5 this year. Nobody turned up to represent the company at a preliminary hearing previously and another hearing was fixed for Monday at Glasgow Sheriff Court for the firm to send a representative.

Sheriff Principal Craig Scott refused the appeal on Monday after once again legal representatives on behalf of the company were not sent and ruled that the original decision made by Sheriff Nigel Ross for Tixway to pay the money stood.

The case centred on the business relationship between Mr Whyte, Chris Keating, who owned Snowcast UK, and One Stop Roofing Supplies, which is run by Robert Jenkins. During a previous hearing the court heard Mr Whyte was introduced to Mr Jenkins in April 2008 through friend and businessman Mr Keating.

The court was told Mr Whyte helped Mr Keating's own business by lending money when it was required. It was said that Mr Keating regularly bought supplies from the roofing firm.

Mr Whyte, who bought an 85% stake in Rangers from Sir David Murray for a nominal £1 last May, said he did not agree for invoices for Mr Keating's business to be sent to or paid by him. The court also heard that Mr Whyte became the director of Tixway after serving a seven-year disqualification from being a company director.

When asked why he was banned, the current owner of the Ibrox club who has agreed to sell his shares to a consortium fronted by Charles Green said he could not remember why he was banned as it was some time ago. He added he did not want to say in open court and get it wrong.

In his ruling on the case, Sheriff Ross stated: "I accept the evidence led by the pursuer (One Stop Roofing) as credible and reliable, and supported by the available documentation. I reject the evidence of Mr Whyte as wholly unreliable. It is not possible to ascertain whether he is not telling the truth or is simply unable to recollect the true position, and has convinced himself that this arrangement is something that he would not have entered into. Either way, his evidence is contradicted by virtually every other piece of evidence."

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