DAVE KING expects Rangers to repay his £5million loan on time by next October as he looks to cut his financial ties to Ibrox.

The former chairman has struck an agreement with Club 1872 that will see the supporter organisation purchase his major shareholding in a £13million deal over the next three years.

King has been a major financial player at Ibrox in recent season and has invested tens of millions of pounds in shares and soft loans to fund the Rangers rebuilding job.

The businessman stepped down from the board in March but still has a £5million loan that is due to repaid late next year.

“That is correct and it is as I stated at the AGM last November,” King told the Four Lads Had a Dream Podcast.

“With me living in South Africa with exchange control restrictions, the exchange control authorities would not allow me to make any further direct investment into Rangers, who needed money at the time.

“The only way for me to advance money was on a loan basis, just because of the circumstances. I agreed to do that, it was a two-year loan and I think you are right, it is probably due around October 2021. It is within the club’s current cash requirements to repay that loan so I would expect it to be repaid on time.

“There is interest on that loan. Again, I as announced at the AGM, it was one of the points that I made at the AGM in terms of me reaching my useful life for the club.

“With my increasing restrictions and exchange control, it had become increasingly difficult to make interest free loans because they weren’t being approved by exchange control.

“I pointed out that I was a market interest rate, I think it was eight per cent, and that really reinforced to me, to some extent, the end of my time at Rangers.

“We had got into a stage where my money had helped get the club out of intensive care to a fairly robust and healthy patient. My time was up and it was time to pass it on to other people.”